Reborn, Reincarnate, Recreate
by exocara
Summary: The story of a young boy learning to love himself. "I lived a content life, and then I died. But that's not the end. Apparently, I was reincarnated into one Sawada Tsunayoshi. Whom I don't know anything about, since I don't watch anime. Hahaha... help me." Not a self-insert but you can take it as such. Tsuna's still going to be Tsuna, after all. Just with different motivations.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

><p><strong>0 years old<strong>

* * *

><p>I died at twenty-one years old on a sunny Saturday morning.<p>

I didn't recall much about my death, just that little tidbit. Couldn't even remember how I died and who was the idiot who killed me - because I obviously couldn't die that young without being killed.

Well, dying young kind of sucked, really, but I surprisingly didn't regret much. My parents had died a few years back and I already made peace with that fact a long time ago. My brother had a stable job and a beautiful, caring wife, so there weren't many worries on that part. I didn't have a lover either, much less a spouse or a child, so I wasn't leaving much behind. But speaking of children…

My only regret would be leaving behind the children in the daycare I working in. I could only hope that the news of my untimely demise would be broken gently to them. Many of them were attached to me, after all.

Well, I wasn't _glad_ to go, but I wasn't tragically and unconsollable sad either. Neither was I angry, really. The thing that pissed me off was the after-death situation. What happened post-mortem.

Basically, I walked towards the light only to be engulfed in terrifying darkness, where I couldn't move a muscle. Not even to bat an eyelash. I'll be perfectly frank with you; I was _terrified_.

When I saw the light again, I cried. Really. I couldn't see much, though, just blurred figures moving about. And then…

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Sawada! He's a healthy baby boy!"

Wait, _what_?

Long story short, I had been reincarnated. Obviously, someone up there messed up and I had to pay for it.

I did not die for this rubbish.

Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.

* * *

><p>I soon found out that my new life was to be spent in Japan. Namimori, Japan, to be specific. Something about the place rung alarm bells in my head, but whatever it was just skittered around the edges of my conscious thought, eluding me, so I put it aside in favour of sleeping.<p>

I had to thank the heavens above that I didn't need to learn to comprehend a new language. When I had been younger - well, in my past life, that is - my brother had dragged me with him to learn the Japanese language and culture. I probably was a bit rusty due to the lack of language usage, but it probably wouldn't be much of a problem. What was a problem was…

"This is our house, Tsunayoshi!-kun" my new mother said to me.

… why my name gave me a horrid foreboding feeling.

* * *

><p><strong> One years old <strong>

* * *

><p>The first year was torture, basically. I hated being so reliant on other people, especially after living alone for so long. On the other hand, it was also quite nice to be taken care of again. Kind of. I don't know, my brain was a conflicting mess of adult irritation and childish dependence.<p>

My mother was a little scatterbrained, though. Sometimes, she would forget to feed me. Usually, I rectified the situation with loud wailing. However, I tried to cut down on it when I saw that her eyes were red. She was crying too, but why?

* * *

><p><strong>Two years old<strong>

* * *

><p>When I stopped sleeping for at least eighty percent of the day, I began to notice a very disturbing lack of my father. In my past life, I wasn't very close to my dad. I was hoping to rectify this situation in my new life, but it seemed that this couldn't be the case.<p>

I just hoped that my new father, whoever he was, had a good explanation of the long absences. Not that it would excuse his actions. Now all I could do was try to make my mother's life easier. Being a single mother can never be easy.

* * *

><p><strong>Three years old<strong>

* * *

><p>You're kidding, you're kidding, <em>you're kidding.<em>

This can_not_ be happening. These things don't happen. You don't just… One doesn't just… You can't…

These things _don't_ happen.

I stared at the bright orange, _not burning hot_ flames in my hand in horror. In my past life, I never was much of an anime fan. In fact, I didn't really watch anime in general. But how could I forget this?

That one anime that my brother loves - _loved, my traitorous mind corrected, he's not here anymore_ - had something about colourful fire and people named after Tokugawa shogun (_Iemitsu, my father. Tsunayoshi, my own name_), and finally _Mafia_.

Somehow, sometime, I was going to become a Mafia boss.

I slowly fell to my knees. Mafia… they were the bad guys, weren't they? Drug deals, human trafficking… I remembered my brother mentioning that there were even child experimentation involved.

As someone who a lifetime taking care of children, I couldn't think of any reason why people could hurt them. Really, people who hurt children were horrid and I wouldn't want anything to do with them. The Mafia was cruel and ruthless and would definitely discard anyone who was useless.

… discard those who are useless…?

Wait, that could be the answer! If I acted like a totally useless person, they would just discard me for a better heir! As long as I acted as someone invisible, someone who could be overlooked, they would definitely leave me alone. It shouldn't be too bad. I used to be one of the most invisible students to ever exist in my school, after all. (_Once upon a life ago, the voice whispers, in a time long past and a future that would never exist. I tell it to shut up. It wouldn't do any good to think about these things now._)

Of course, I need to pick up basic self-defense here and there too. Just in case.

* * *

><p><strong> Five years old<strong>

* * *

><p>I didn't know fighting could be so cathartic. I didn't have to think much, yet my brain went into overdrive at the same time.<p>

_Duck, punch, roll, he's guarding his left it's weak __**hit it**__._

I never indulged in fighting in my past life. It was something new here, something that would not remind me of a time long past, a world that didn't exis- I quickly shut that thought off as I blocked a punch. However, my distracting thoughts cost be a precious second and that was enough for my opponent to gain an upper hand against me.

_Jump- shit! Can't block!_

My opponent kicked me in the legs and I fell, landing in a weird position. Goddammit I must've twisted my ankle. The rest of the day is ruined.

Looks like I'll be going home sooner than usual. Sigh.

* * *

><p>I can't believe I forgot.<p>

I stared up at the face of the seemingly nice old man standing in my house. I mustn't be disarmed by his warm, grandfatherly smile. This guy is still a Mafia boss, a man who ordered the deaths of people in cold-blood.

_If it's to save the lives of his precious people, could it really be that bad?_

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I didn't want to be a Mafia boss. I shouldn't even be thinking about it.

_Won't you do the same, if only to protect the children? Your brother?_

Shut. Up.

"Good afternoon, Nono," I said in a soft tone. I tried to take a step forward but fell due to my twisted ankle. Damn, I forgot about it. I bit back a sigh as I lay on the ground, contemplating the failure that was my existence. But I guess, this wasn't so bad. This would most definitely keep this… Mafioso from choosing me as his heir.

"Tsu-kun! Papa's here!" my mother's cheerful voice called from inside the house. I quickly scrambled up and ran in. While I disapproved of my father's choice of work, and the fact that he didn't come home often, it wasn't like he could just leave the Mafia and come home, expecting everything to be fine.

_(You can't just _leave_ the Mafia like that.)_

It might be better for him to just stay in Italy and get rid of threats before they could even reach mother and me. Throughout the five years of my life, I've never even felt the slightest assassination attempt. That's got to count for something, right?

_(You just don't want to hate him.)_

(He's my father. I don't want to hate my father.)

_(Is he really?)_

(...)

I pushed away my conflicting thoughts and ignored the piercing pain in my ankle to give my father a large smile. Seeing how his face brightened made it worth it.

_(Is it really?) _

* * *

><p><strong>Seven years old<strong>

* * *

><p>There's a nice boy in my neighbourhood. I see him every time mother and I go get sushi (from this amazing sushi store, by the way. Takesushi. Damn, they should pay me for advertising, I'm such a good adviser) he'd be there. I think his name is Yamamoto Takeshi. He was always smiling and cheerful. It was nice to be in his presence. It was like all your worries was cleansed from you.<p>

Right. That was a weird description. Ignore me.

Anyway, like I said, he had the most breathtaking smile. But recently, it stopped. I didn't mean he stopped smiling; I meant that his smiles stopped being nice to look at. They didn't reach his eyes, making them the worst smiles in the world.

(You shouldn't force yourself to smile like that.)

I wanted to approach him, I really did, but I wasn't one to make half-assed friendships. I didn't want to drag innocents with me if I ever go into the Mafia world. Yamamoto had black hair and brown eyes, hardly unique enough colouring to be considered a main character in an anime.

It was kind of lonely, but I was okay with it.

_(You're scared.)_

I was totally okay with it. I couldn't have friends if I wanted to be invisible.

_(Afraid of death, are you?)_

I didn't need friends. I had my mother and she was enough. Right?

* * *

><p><strong>Nine years old <strong>

* * *

><p>A boy, one or two years older than my physical self, jogs by my house every morning. And by morning, I mean ungodly hours of the day. I know that because he shouts out loud every now and then and wakes me up.<p>

His sunny disposition is kind of refreshing. Personally, I feel that he is someone I wouldn't mind being friends with. Also, he has white hair, hardly common colouring. He probably became one of the main characters, or main supporting characters, at least. But… I still couldn't approach him. I…

(I'm scared.)

I don't want to lose this detachment I had. If I started to branch out to other people, if I started to care for other people, I would start believing that this was my life.

_(Isn't it?)_

I… I've already died. This life…

_(I see how it is now. You're afraid to die, and you're afraid to live. Hah. What a way to exist.)_

_(You really are pathetic, Dame-Tsuna.)_

(I guess so, huh?)

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong>

It kept bouncing in my head and I needed to get it out. Unbetaed. I hope there's no mistakes.

Also can this person be considered as Tsuna? Idk. I consider them as Tsuna.

"You are afraid to die, and you're afraid to live. What a way to exist."

― Neale Donald Walsch, _Home with God: In a Life That Never Ends_

There, now hopefully lawyers won't come after me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

><p><strong>Thirteen years old<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>also known as the end of all things rational and sane<strong>

* * *

><p>I can't wait until I'm fourteen. I mean, that's the age the original Tsunayoshi was when Reborn came, right? If he doesn't come by then, I can start living again.<p>

_(Will you?)_

(...)

_(I thought so.)_

"Tsu-kun! A home tutor is coming today!" the door to my room opened and my mother walked in on me lying face down on the floor. She gave a little giggle. "Having an existential crisis again, Tsu-kun?" she asked.

_You have no idea._ I picked myself off the ground and gave her a little smile before her words caught up with me.

"Home tutor?!" That guy… he's coming? So soon? I'm not even fourteen yet! Could I have been mistaken? Probably. I bit back a groan of annoyance. I was not mentally prepared for this. Also, didn't I give that Mafia boss enough reason to not choose me? I appeared physically weak, I was average in everything, I had absolutely _no_ presence whatsoever… And I was clumsy. My physical training helped me a little, though, so instead of tripping every minute, I tripped every other minute.

"There was an interesting flyer in the mailbox," my mother continued, as if she didn't hear me. Knowing her, she probably didn't. She's always in her own little world, making me slightly worried about her. If I didn't accompany her to the market every Sunday, she would most surely get conned by one thing or another.

"I will raise your kid to become the new leader of the next generation. Grade and subject doesn't matter. Doesn't that sound exciting, Tsu-kun?"

"It sounds like a scam!" Yeap, she'd get conned.

"He's probably a tutor from a professional business school for young men. I've always wanted a teacher like this for you!" She was _way_ too excited about this. And how'd she come to that sort of conclusion, anyway?

"Please don't create your own image of him," I sighed. Mum should really stop idealising stuff. And besides, if my hunch was correct, the new 'tutor' is _definitely_ not from a professional business school. I think. Then again, anime logic can never be questioned.

"Ciaossu." The voice came from the middle of the room. I tried not to stiffen up as I slowly turned around to see a baby wearing a black suit and a fedora hat. I stared. It was a legitimate baby. Not a child, not a toddler, but an honest-to-god one year old child standing right there. Just standing.

I think my brain broke.

"I arrived three hours early," the baby said, unaware of the mental breakdown I was going through at the moment, "but as a service, I'll evaluate you right now."

Must not…

I walked over to the baby and knelt down, giving a warm and sincere smile. "Hello mister, who may you be?" I asked in a gentle tone.

Fiddlesticks. My instincts from the past life had taken over. I was going to die.

"Hm? I'm the home tutor, Reborn." The baby looked at me in the eyes and I intuitively moved back a little. Those black eyes… Those eyes did not belong to a child. The baby standing in front of me couldn't be a child. But what could he be? An adult trapped in a child's body? That's absurd.

_(But aren't you an adult trapped in a child's body? And really, you can light flames with a snap of your fingers. That's absurd.)_

Right. Anime. I was in a shonen anime. These things happened. I was probably going to help this guy get back his adult body because people liked happy endings.

I fought back the increasing urge to jump out the window, move to Atlantis or something, and never look back.

Standing up, I gave a small bow and brought my smile to the next level - the closed eye smile. That way the not-baby couldn't see the apprehension in my eyes. "It's nice to meet you, Reborn-san. Please take care of me." Right. I was laying it thick there. He'd obviously be suspicious. Oh dear.

_Back, back, **back**!_

My eyes snapped open and I leaped back just as Reborn swung his leg at me at a frightening speed. The tips of his sole grazed my tie and I tried to land on my feet. Tried. The not-baby jumped up into the air and kicked me in the head, sending me flying into the desk behind me. Hopefully, it wasn't damaged. And my bones didn't break. Darn, I have to sort out my priorities.

"It's nice that you're playing with that baby, Tsu-kun, you're always so good with children! Don't forget to come down for dinner!" After all these years, I still can't believe my mother's obliviousness.

When she was out of the room, I eyed Reborn warily. He didn't seem to care as he opened his briefcase and started to assemble a gun. Professionally. If I had any doubts at that moment, they were all being blown away. After he finished assembling the gun, he picked it up and looked at me in the eye with his two, pitch black, soulless orbs. "My real job," he stated, "is to make you a Mafia boss."

Okay, I expected that, but it didn't really stop my knee-jerk reaction of, "You're kidding."

I kind of just stared at him in a daze, not really listening to his words, until he pointed his gun at my forehead and asked in a tone more suited for discussing the weather, if I'd like for him to shoot me in the head. I spluttered. There was a split second of silence and Reborn kept the gun.

"Not now," he said. A rumble came from his stomach and he left the room. I took a deep breath to relax myself. Was he gone? Was it really so easy? I closed my eyes. No, of course not. Once Reborn came, he was here to stay until I died or I became a Mafia boss. He was probably downstairs, eating dinner. Time to prepare myself.

Wait a second, didn't my brother say something about getting shot and running around in underwear like a maniac?

… I think I'll stay up here to prepare myself a little more. And invest in the most outrageous underwear possible.

Hey, go big or go home, yeah?

* * *

><p>"Let it burn, let it burn," I hummed to myself as lay on my bed and played with my flames. The beautiful bright orange sparked from my fingertips and faded out a few seconds later. When I was playing around with my flames, I found out that as long as they didn't have direct contact with my flesh, they wouldn't burn. It was a bit strange though, wasn't my father supposed to have sealed my flames a super long time ago or something? Or was that just fandom speculation?<p>

Yeah, whatever. I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

_(Gift horse. Really?)_

"Huh, so you won't need the dying will bullet after all," came a squeaky voice from the side of my bed.

"HIIEE!" I flinched and hit the wall on the other side of my bed. The not-baby was there. I didn't even hear him come in! Then I processed his words. "Dying will bullet?"

Reborn then gave a speech about being in dying will mode - the effect the dying will bullet gave - which I pretty much simplified to removing the mental block on your potential strength. Y'know, those times when you see a mother lift a car to save her child or something? Yeah, that. But just with a fire on your your forehead and no clothes on.

"Um… Reborn-san…"

"Reborn." I was interrupted.

"Okay, Reborn. Who created this 'dying will bullet'?" Why hasn't the government gotten their hands on it yet and messed everything up? Oh wait, Mafia. Silly me.

"The dying will bullet is a specialty passed through the Vongola Family."

"You didn't answer my question… Wait, Vongola Family?" Clam? Of all the names…

"I was assigned by the ninth Vongola boss to come to Japan and raise you to become a Mafia boss." He ignored me!

"What happened to the others? I mean you can't expect me to believe that I'm the first choice, right?" I fidgeted under the not-baby's emotionless gaze. Seriously, those beetle-like black eyes freaked me out.

"You're right. You're the last and only candidate left." He took a deep breath, as if preparing for a speech. I did not like where this was going.

"The first and most qualified candidate, Enrico, was shot in a feud." Oh god, there were pictures. I shied away from them. Ugh, I was never good with gore and dead people.

"The young number two, Matsumo, was drowned." Stop showing me those pictures, for goodness' sake!

"The favourite child, Federico, was found reduced to bone."

"Hiee! You don't have to keep showing them!" He's having way too much fun with this! "Also, I'm pretty sure my dad's not a Mafia boss. I don't think I'm related to the current Vongola boss." Am I?

Turns out I wasn't. Instead, I was related to the first one. Darn, this is the first time I'm hearing all this! And the worst part? The little not-baby just fell asleep. In _my_ bed. I had half a mind to push him off but, upon seeing his sleeping face, I found that I couldn't do a thing to him.

_Why does he sleep with his eyes open holy didgeridoo if I touch him I'll definitely go to hell in two seconds or something._

If you thought it was because I couldn't touch a child, you're partially right. But it was mostly because I was pretty sure Reborn was someone who could take over hell single-handedly. AKA, someone I really don't want to mess with.

_Sigh_. Looks like I'll have to take out the spare futon.

* * *

><p>"<em>Must<em> you follow me to school?" I could just feel my sanity slowly slipping away from me.

"Oh, Sawada-san?" I blinked and looked away from Reborn for a second to see my classmate, Sasagawa Kyoko, standing in front of me. I gave her a small smile and a wave. I quite liked Sasagawa-san; she was nice and friendly, although a bit oblivious, and had a good heart. She kind of reminded me of my mother, now that I thought of it. Huh, no wonder I was fond of her.

"Sasagawa-san, it's nice to see you," I greeted politely. I could see her eyes being drawn to Reborn. Darn, now I have to make an excuse for his presence.

"Ciaossu."

"Hello little guy, why are you wearing a suit?"

"Because I'm in the Mafia." I fought the urge to facepalm. Well, I guess you could do that too. Sometimes I forgot that the truth could be uttered loudly and bluntly, but people would only hear what they want to hear. Humans are kind of… Sigh.

_Incoming, hostile, six o' clock._

My body stiffened and I quickly spun around, adopting an almost defensive position to see… Mochida Kensuke. I but back another sigh as I relaxed. Seriously, what was that all about? Mochida-senpai wasn't a threat, he was a schoolmate! However, my intuition hasn't been wrong before…

Man, this is confusing.

_(Do you doubt yourself, Dame-Tsuna?)_

I gave a slight bow and a polite greeting to the older boy. When he didn't answer, I glanced up at his face and blinked in confusion at the hostility in his eyes. What did I do? What did I do?!

"What are you doing, talking to Kyoko-chan like that?" What. What? What?!

"I said hi to her when I saw her? Like a normal classmate would?" I paused as a thought occurred to me. "Wait, do you like like Sasagawa-san? I thought you were dating Fujimoto-senpai? Or have you guys broken up?" I saw Mochida-senpai and Fujimoto-senpai making out about a week ago. Ah wait, now that I was thinking about it, he was also unusually intimate with Oshiro-san too…

_Cheater, liar, cheater, liar._

Oh. "You're cheating on Fujimoto-senpai?" Now that I think of it, it was a really bad idea to say that out loud. It was also really insensitive and stupid of me. However, it did let me see an interesting sight; the sight of Mochida-senpai reddening in total and utter humiliation and anger.

_Leave. Leave now._

Ah, my intuition was calling me. Goodbye my friends, I am gone.

"U-uh see you in school Mochida-senpai. B-bye," I quickly stuttered out before grabbing Reborn and making a break for Namimori Middle School. I can foresee that this would be one of the points in my life in which I will look back on and regret. Hopefully, hopefully, nothing bad would happen and Mochida-senpai wouldn't do anything to me.

Ahaha, who was I kidding? I'm dead. Goodbye dear anonymity. Goodbye dear peaceful life.

_(It was gone the moment you were born, Da-me-Tsu-na.)_

* * *

><p><em>Everything is horrible and I hate the world.<em> All my classmates were staring at me. Staring and whispering, no doubt horrid rumours of whatever had happened this morning on the way to school. I really want to stay, that as an experienced past-adult, people would grow out of this childish act but I would be lying. It's kind of sad, really.

Thank god it was the end of the school day, though. I was pretty sure if I spent another moment in such a horrid and suffocating environment, I'd start to cry. Oh, and I also need to find Reborn; the guy disappeared the moment I reached school. I wonder where he went. Hope he's not hurt…

_(He won't be. He's a lot better than you are.)_

"Whoa, you can't go home yet!" There were a bunch of boys outside my classroom.

_(Nakahara, Tachibana, Kobayashi. From the Kendo club. Mochida's allies. Our enemies. What're gonna do, Dame-Tsuna?)_

I tensed up. What did they want? To gang up on me? No… that wasn't it. They weren't hostile. Yet.

"Captain Mochida's waiting for you in the dojo."

Oh. _Oh_.

They didn't give me a chance to answer before they scooped me up and proceeded to ran to said dojo.

_I regret everything._

* * *

><p>"There you are, you bastard! How dare you try to sully my name in your attempt to take Kyoko-chan as your own!" Wow, what a beautiful greeting. I have absolutely no idea what he's going on about.<p>

"God may forgive a piece of shit like you, but I won't!" he continued loudly, "I shall smite you!"

Okay, who _actually_ says these kind of things in this day and age?

"Wait, so you _aren't_ dating Fujimoto-senpai and Oshiro-san at the same time?" Ah, he's turning red again. That really is a strange colour. Is it even healthy?

When Mochida-senpai recovered, he began to explain the rules of Kendo to me. He didn't answer my question, which was mean of him. We really need to clear up this confusion.

"The prize is, of course, Sasagawa Kyoko!" he ended off. I twitched.

"Sasagawa-san is _not_ a prize! Do you even respect her as a fellow human being?" Man, I heard rumours about this but I didn't really want to believe them. Looks like Mochida-senpai is an irritating male chauvinist. I had strong feelings of dislike towards these sort of people due to the way my mother brought me up in my past life.

_(But not this one. Sawada Nana seems to allow people from everywhere to walk over her. So much weaker than your previous mother.)_

(She is strong in her own right. Please do not compare them.)

Oh. Mochida-senpai is turning that interesting colour again.

_Go get your shinai. No, not that one. Not the one they're carrying. It's bad._

I bypassed the shinai Mochida-senpai's juniors were carrying, making a beeline to the selection of shinais available. Quietly listening to my intuition, I ran my hand over each one before stopping when I received a positive feeling.

I grabbed the shinai and turned around, choosing to forego the (super heavy) armour, to face Mochida-senpai. He gave a smirk. "Are you sure you don't want to wear the armour?" he asked in a condescending tone. Wow. What a douchelord. I could only nod in agreement. His smirk got wider.

"I won't hold back! Eat this, you peon!" He swung his shinai down on me with frightening force. I jumped back to avoid the blow and, after that, everything blurred into the familiar haze of instincts and intuition.

_Dodge, dodge, dodge. Make your first strike your last._

_An opening!_

My shinai landed straight on his head, forcing him to his knees. Oops, I used a bit more force than I should've. Looking at the referee, I was slightly surprised to see him not raising my flag. Didn't he see me bring his captain to his knees? Pretty sure the whole school saw it. Why wouldn't the guy raise the flag? Unless…

Wow, this guy's great at making himself look bad, huh? I don't even need to do anything.

_Dodge, hit._

Mochida (not senpai because I'm not going to give a cheating, lying, chauvinist any respect) actually fell to the ground this time. I think I actually gave him a concussion. Oh dear. I glanced at the referee again, this time letting my eyes go half-lidded. I felt a warmth seep through me that meant orange was bleeding into the brown of my eye (which I never really got but chalked it up to one of those Anime Things) and watched with satisfaction as the referee flinched and quickly raised my flag. Fighting back a smirk, I gave him a bright smile. There was a moment of utter silence before everyone in the dojo suddenly ran up to me with a roar. I flinched violently, letting out a somewhat embarrassing shriek.

"Congratulations! You won!" Was the start of a thousand other friendly shouts and pats. Suddenly, everyone knew my name. It was overwhelming and terrifying at the same time.

_Seriously. I regret everything._

* * *

><p>"Sawada-san!" Someone called out just as I left the dojo. It was Sasagawa-san and Kurokawa-san. Tilting my head slightly to the side, I gave a small smile and waited for her to speak.<p>

"Thanks for standing up for me." She gave a shy smile, not meeting my eyes. Kurokawa-san gave me a smirk. I suddenly felt pretty uncomfortable and flustered. I could just feel myself blushing.

"It's no problem, Sasagawa-san" I muttered, looking on the ground. "Anyone would do that."

"Please, call me Kyoko! We're friends, right?" I paused. Friends, huh? I…

_(Gonna turn her down? Well of course you are, coward. Dame-Tsuna, stuck in the past, never being able to move forward. Alone. You'll di-)_

"Then I would like it if you called me Tsuna. Same goes to you, Kurokawa-san." I gave another, much brighter smile.

_(Well this is new.)_

"Tch, I guess you can call me Hana."

_(You're starting to move on.)_

"Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan, then?"

(Is that a bad thing?)

"Sure."

_(Well, that's entirely up to you, isn't it, Sawada Tsunayoshi?)_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note<strong>: Somehow the tone changed. Ugh.

I was gonna put Gokudera in? But he didn't make it. That's sad. He'll be in the next chapter though, I'm sure of it.

Wonder who's the dude talking in the italic brackets. I don't know either, but I have an idea.

Seriously, what happened to this Tsunayoshi? I was gonna make him withdrawn but still with a quiet confidence. But with a low self-esteem? Not really low self-esteem, he just thinks that others think the worst of him.

And pairings. Huh. I don't think there'll be any pairings.

(just wait im gonna turn this into all27 or something just for shits and giggles)

Also should I do future arc or what. Nice!Byakuran? Because if it's nice!Byakuran, I have an idea.

I want to deviate from canon but it doesn't seem like it's gonna happen. I'll try though.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

><p><strong>I can't believe this. Is this seriously my life?<strong>

* * *

><p>I haven't exactly expressed negativity to becoming a Mafia boss, but I didn't say yes either. This was probably the reason why Reborn was currently holding me at gunpoint as I read an extremely biased book about Mafia bosses. Propaganda, basically.<p>

"Read it every morning," Reborn had told me, "because you are the guy who will become the tenth generation boss." I kind of wanted to say no but the bright shine of the black gun in the not-baby's hand stopped me. My options lay before me: die, or become a Mafia boss. I don't really know which was worst, to be honest.

_Look at the time._

I glanced at the clock and immediately burst into action, swinging up my bag and leaving the room with a quick "See you" to Reborn. It was seven forty-five and if I didn't leave now, I'll be late.

With a disciplinary committee like Namimori Middle's, being late is a fate worse than death.

* * *

><p>'"SAWADA! I need to ask a favour from you!" was literally what greeted me first thing in the morning in school. Seriously. Worst part? I can't turn it down. It's not within me to do so.<p>

_(I really want to know how you grew up to be such a pushover.)_

"The volleyball tournament is today, but we are short a regular. I want you to play!" my schoolmate begged. I just stared at him incredulously. Did I look like the type of person that could play volleyball? I'd trip and fall flat on my face.

"Why me?" I finally forced out.

"Because you looked really amazing when you beat Mochida-senpai! Please, lend us that strength!" His eyes were glittering with some kind of emotion. Man, I hate that emotion. It makes it even harder to say no. No wait, what are you doing? Don't…

He clasped his hands together and gave me a ninety degree bow. "Come on! I'm begging you! Please!"

One second… two seconds… three seconds…

"I guess I could do it…" Wait, what am I saying?

"Seriously? Man, if the hero that beat senpai joins, We have nothing to fear! Thank yoouuu!" And with that, he ran off. 'Hero', huh? I inwardly whimpered.

You see, I had a bad track record with sports. Like, really bad. Sports like boxing, or aikido, or parkour… Those I have no troubles with, really. But the ones that include balls, like baseball, basketball, tennis… Well…

Okay, so one time I was seven and my father decided to try to play baseball with me. I don't know what possessed him to try, really, but it was a Bad Idea. For me, at least. Well, so he threw the ball at me. I dropped the bat and tried to smack the ball away with my bare hands but failed epically, causing said ball to hit me in the face and give me a concussion.

The other time I tried to play tennis. I swung the racket too hard, and too wrong, making it fly out of my hands and into the air. It hit the tree branch above me and broke it. The tree branch fell on my head and I got a concussion.

When I was playing basketball in gym, some guy tried to pass the ball to me. The ball bypassed my hands and smacked me in the face, causing me to fly backwards and bash my head against the cold, hard ground. I spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office due to my concussion.

That should be enough evidence as to why I had an aversion to sports. Especially ball games. Specifically ball games. Like volleyball.

I am going to die, I can just see it. Death by volleyball. What a way to go.

* * *

><p>"Sawada, we're starting!" Oh god oh god oh god it's starting, I'm going to die.<p>

I gave them a small, polite smile. "Please go ahead first. I need to take care of something." It's nice that my voice came out without any problems. When they were gone, I stood up and started running through the school, searching for the little not-baby.

"Reborn! Where are you!" A familiar smell assaulted me. Espresso. It's coming from-

Bam, the door to the fire hose reel cabinet swung open violently and smacked me in the leg. I collapsed onto the floor, holding my shin and moaning softly in agony.

"Ciaossu," the little devil spawn greeted. My reply was a high pitched keen.

"So, the volleyball tournament." Oh. Of course he knew. Why wouldn't he?

"Yeah, the volleyball tournament. Um… if I die, who would take over Vongola?" I tried to ask this as nonchalantly as possible, so as to not arouse any suspicion. I could tell it did not work when Reborn gave me a weird look.

"No one. The Vongola will die out." I wasn't quite sure if he was serious or not. "Why do you ask?" I fidgeted under the piercing black eyes of Reborn. Finally, I broke.

"I'm probably going to die during volleyball. I can't play ball games without injuring myself," I confessed. Argh, dug up bad memories. Gotta suppress them again.

"So, why did you accept the request?" Reborn raised a patronising eyebrow. I grimaced.

"Because he said please." Silence. Reborn stared at me blankly and I could feel my face heating up. Don't look at me like that! I already know I'm a pushover, I don't need you to rub it in my face!

"Look, he and his friends obviously hold this tournament in pretty high regard, and he came to me, which obviously means all other resources have been used up. If I don't go for the tournament, all their hard work in practicing for it will be gone and they'll be sad and I don't like people being sad when I could've made them unsad and-"

"Tsuna-kun!" A voice cut off my babbling. It was Kyoko. "You're playing volleyball, right? The stadium is this way! If you don't hurry, the game'll start without you."

"Ah, but…" I turned to find Reborn but he was gone. Kyoko grabbed my hand and started pulling.

"Come on, hurry up! Everyone is waiting!"

_I'm going to cry._

* * *

><p>This is annoying. This is worse than the time Mochida decided to be an ass. Everyone was staring at me again. They were relying on me. Why were they relying on me? I was a wildcard, and they only saw me sparring against Mochida. I could be horrible at volleyball and they wouldn't even know it! In fact, I was horrible at volleyball! Oh my god, I was going to die.<p>

_(Don't be so melodramatic, Dame-Tsuna. And besides, why would it matter if you die? You don't belong here anyway.)_

"Begin!"

Of course, like I predicted, the ball smashed into my face. Thankfully, I did not get a concussion again. Well, at least the ball bounced back over the net, so the team was still safe. I just hope the rest of the game wouldn't be that bad.

"Tsuna here it comes!"

Of course, as fate would have it, I was hit in the head again.

* * *

><p>"End of the first set!"<p>

I collapsed onto the floor, only just biting back a moan of agony. A bunch of players rushed to my side.

"Sawada, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"You're hurt! You should go sit out…" I snapped my head up to glare at him.

"Everyone else is hurt as well! I can't possibly just sit out while you guys are trying your best. You guys say you're serious about this match… well so am I!" I took in a deep breath to calm myself. "Sorry for shouting like that. I shouldn't have lost my temper." The whole stadium was silent. Darn, I just embarrassed myself. I could feel my cheeks heating up.

"Um, I'm gonna go… wash my face. I'll be back before break's over. Yeah." I scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the stadium, unwilling to meet anyone's eyes.

* * *

><p>I really didn't want to go back, but I also didn't want to disappoint anyone. But really, what could I do? Use my weird orange fire thing to fly? Well, sure I could do that, but it was extremely dangerous, and I was pretty sure the men in white coats would drag me away the next day. Also, flying was not a good experience for me.<p>

I'm not going to dredge up the memories. The ball game flashbacks were bad enough.

"Hey Reborn," I muttered when I felt a familiar presence. The presence stilled for a split second before jumping onto my head. I gave a small smile. "How're you?"

"I think I should be asking you that, Baka-Tsuna." I jerked in surprise.

"What's with the nickname?" I lifted him up from my head and settled him in my lap. Really, I couldn't help it; I liked cuddling people and Reborn looked adorable. Of course, his personality was another matter entirely…

"What are you doing?" Reborn tone was setting off multiple danger alarms on my head and I reluctantly let him go. Couldn't take part in the volleyball tournament if I was dead.

"Nnngh, I better get going. See you, Reborn."

I felt his eyes on my back as I left, conveying some emotion I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Suddenly, I felt _very_ worried for my existence.

* * *

><p>"Tsuna!" someone yelled as I fell to the ground. Something had pierced through my left and right leg, but what? Though there were holes in my pants, there was no blood. Nothing seemed wrong.<p>

The sudden, biting pain seemed familiar though.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Never mind about that, I have more pressing things to attend to. I'll have to think about it later.

"Here it comes, Tsuna! Block the ball!"

"Okay!" I jumped, and things got a bit weird.

_How the hell am I two metres off the ground?!_

* * *

><p>"You shot me." Reborn had just finished explaining the other effects of the dying will bullet.<p>

"I thought you would depend on the bullet, so I didn't say anything about it. However, you never did. You didn't even _think_ about asking me to shoot you with the bullet." There was a strange inflection in his voice but I didn't pay much attention to it.

"You shot me."

"Of course I did. I'm a hitman, after all."

"You _shot_ me."

Reborn kicked me in the head and snapped me out of my shock. Still, I couldn't help but be a little distracted.

The pain was from a gunshot wound. As far as I've known, I've _never_ been shot before. So why had the pain seemed familiar? Why was it that I've felt that I had experienced such pain before?

_(Are you sure you've never been shot before?)_

I tried my best to remain invisible. My father kept Namimori safe from possible assassins. I kept out of the way of anything and anyone dangerous. There was absolutely no way I would know how it would feel getting shot.

_(How about your past life?)_

(I've never gotten shot.)

_(Really. How did you die, then?)_

(I…)

_(C'mon, why don't you remember, Dame-Tsuna? How you died on that Saturday morning.)_

(No, I…)

_(That sunny Saturday morning. You were with your brother and-)_

(No, nO, NO! I DON'T WANT TO REMEMBER! NO, YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!)

Yeah, absolutely no way I'd know how it'll feel like to be shot.

* * *

><p><strong>They sicken of calm who know of storm<strong>

* * *

><p>"We have a new transfer student who was studying overseas in Italy. Gokudera Hayato." I perked up. Transfer student from Italy! Seeing his silver hair and green eyes, I just knew he was going to know me. Maybe he'll be my friend?<p>

I offered a hesitant smile to the boy only to flinch when he glared at me.

_Okay… maybe not friends…_

He started walking towards me.

_Hostile. Shift your chair backwards._

I did as my intuition asked just in time to avoid getting hurt when the transfer student kicked my table.

_What did I do? How did I offend him on our first meeting?_

I tried my best to ignore the girls loudly talking about his intimidating behaviour. Getting attracted to this kind of behaviour is plain unhealthy.

* * *

><p>Right, the seniors in my school that try to be gangsters? They're total assholes. Seriously.<p>

Anyway, as I was running away from them (like hell I'd fight them in the school hallways and risk the wrath of the disciplinary committee), I found Gokudera. Or rather, he found me.

Then he told me that he had been stalking me since the volleyball tournament and that if a "doormat wallflower" like me became the Vongola Decimo, the Vongola family would be finished. Wow, thanks for your lovely words of encouragement mister. As if I don't know that already.

Then, he dropped the bomb. "I refuse to accept it. I'm the one who's fit to become Decimo!"

What. Didn't Reborn say that if I die, the Vongola family would be finished?

Gokudera shoved his hands into his pockets and pulled out two sticks of dynamites. Hah. Dynamites.

_What the bloody hell-_

"You're a nuisance. Die right here."

Then he lit the dynamites and threw them at me. Lit dynamites! With his cigarette! Are fourteen year olds even allowed to smoke?

_My brother didn't say shit about this!_

I was about to leap away when something whistled past the front of my face at an alarming speed, cutting off the flaming part of the dynamite and preventing a horridly large explosion from tearing me apart.

"Ciaossu." Of course it's him. "You came earlier than expected, Gokudera Hayato." I jerked in surprised, although I wasn't quite sure why. It should be pretty obvious that this seemingly out of nowhere transfer student from Italy came to Japan on the not-baby's orders. Italy. Mafia central.

Yeah, I shouldn't have been surprised.

"So, you're the ninth generation's most trusted assassin, Reborn," Gokudera said. I didn't really like his tone. "You're not kidding about me being a candidate as the successor if I kill Sawada, right?" Yeap, there it is. The sound of Reborn's total and utter betrayal.

"You liar, Reborn! You said-"

"Yeah, that's right. Well, let's continue with the killing." He not only cut me off, he didn't answer my question and _lied_ to me! That total utter meanie.

_(Traitor. Oh well, it's not like he can betray you anyway. I mean, how can you betray someone that puts no trust in you?)_

I turned to make a strategic retreat but my road was blocked by Gokudera. Gokudera and his mouth full of cigarettes and hands full of dynamites.

"HIEEE!" I jumped out of the blast range, barely listening to Reborn's (not very helpful) explanation about the hostile transfer student and his skills. Yeah, he's a pretty good dynamite user; I kind of gathered that when I saw him magically pull out dynamite from thin air and used them.

And of course, my horrid luck decided to manifest itself in me running into a dead end. Man, years in this school and I still can't find my way around the school.

"This is it," Gokudera hissed and hurled a bunch of dynamites at me. I tensed up, ready to pull out my orange flames, when I felt the same piercing pain in my forehead.

That was when things went kind of pear-shaped.

* * *

><p>When I was in full control of my body again, and no longer running around in a haze of passion and strong emotions, I found myself in my boxers and kneeling on the ground, surrounded with defused dynamites. Organising my thoughts, I made to stand up but was badly startled by a loud slam behind me.<p>

"I was mistaken! You're the one who's fit to be the boss!"

I warily turned around to see Gokudera on the ground in a dogeza.

"Tenth! I'll follow you! Command me to do anything!" His face was scarily earnest. Terrifyingly earnest. The sudden change in personality made me disturbed and wary. What did he want?

"Having the loser serve under the winner is a family rule," Reborn told me. I frowned. I didn't want someone to follow me out of pure obligation. Gokudera seemingly read my mind as he explained to me the reason for his strange behaviour.

"Actually… I didn't really have any ambition to be the tenth. It's just that… when I heard that the tenth was a Japanese boy the same age and me, I felt that I had to test his strength." He looked so much like a guilty, wronged, scolded child that I couldn't help myself.

Giving him a gentle smile, I asked, "So, did I get your approval?"

His head jerked up so fast to meet my gaze that I was afraid he'd get whiplash. "Of course you did, tenth! For putting yourself on the line to save me, I'll place my life in your hands!" O...kay… The amount of devotion shining in his eyes really can't be healthy.

"Ah, um, can you not? I mean, can't we just be friends?"

"Absolutely not." I flinched from his sharp gaze. Alright, shutting up now.

"Gokudera became your subordinate because of your strength." The little not-baby had the audacity to look smug. "Good job Tsuna."

"Ah look, these guys are cutting class." The three of us turned to see some seniors leering at us. The same seniors I bumped into earlier today. Well, the day can't get any worse than this, can it?

"Tenth. Leave this to me," Gokudera's voice sounded extremely angry, with an undercurrent of overprotectiveness, "I'll get rid of them."

"No wait, Gokudera-san! Don't use the dynamite!"

* * *

><p>"Please don't shoot me again." Those were the first words that left my mouth when Reborn and I were in the safety of my room.<p>

(Please don't make me relive the pain, please don't let me remember, I don't want to remember.)

Reborn's beetle black eyes glittered dangerously. "And why not?"

"I don't need it. I had it under control."

"It didn't seem like that to me."

"I thought you said that I didn't need the bullet." Frustration was creeping into my tone. Can't he see that I could take care of myself? I've been doing fine for more than thirteen years; I didn't need some infant on a power trip to mess it up.

"I thought you could handle yourself." I hated it. I hated his deadpan tone. I hated the nonchalant way he spoke, as if he wasn't stripping away _what little control I had in my life_.

"I can!"

Reborn raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Can you?"

And then the realisation struck me. It was clear now. He didn't trust me.

_(Of course he didn't. You don't trust him, why should he trust you?)_

"I'm sorry." _I'm sorry I can't trust you. I'm sorry you can't trust me._

(I can't trust anyone here.)

Reborn gave me an odd look but said nothing as he left the room for dinner. A few minutes later, I followed him, in control of myself once again.

We didn't talk until the next day.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: <strong>Yamamoto next chapter. Not sure how I'm going to go about it though.

tbh I don't know how Tsuna's past life died either.

Seriously, I'm just gonna keep updating and writing this story until I run outta ideas then I will cry.

I hope I can deviate from canon soon. I have an idea. Kinda.

**Zecret:** Thank you for the review, Zecret! I'm glad you liked my story. Ah, have you published your reader insert? If you have, may I read it? It sounds interesting!

**Ivise:** Thanks for the review~ Haha, I'm not too sure about my nice!Byakuran idea yet. It sounds too... _eh_. All27? I like all27 but I'm not too big on writing romance. If it's all27, it'll most likely be one-sided all27. No angst and arguments on the relationship side because romance is not a big thing in the story.

(If it's bad!Byakuran, this Tsuna's gonna die ahahahahahaha)

Sorry I couldn't reply to your reviews before. I was kinda preoccupied.

"They sicken of the calm who know the storm."

― _Dorothy Parker, Sunset Gun_

(**In all honesty**? I appreciate any reviews I get and stuff. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm not gonna lie and say you don't have to leave reviews if you don't want to, because I'd like them. But hey, I doubt I'm gonna stop writing, reviews or not. So yeah. I guess as long as you enjoy the story, I'm happy.)


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning:** Touches slightly on suicide here.

(Look I'm not trying to make this Tsuna **romantically depressed** or something. It's an important plot point development for later, though I wish I could think of a better way to go about it. Self harm is bad. Suicide is not right. If you are depressed or even contemplating suicide, please talk to an adult or peer you trust. There are also hotlines for this. Don't do anything rash, you'll 100% regret it.)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>When He removes something from your possession it is only in order to empty your hands for an even greater gift.<strong>

* * *

><p>My luck has officially ran out. I can't avoid baseball anymore. No medical reasons, no convenient stomachache, no 'oh I forgot to bring my gym clothes'.<p>

"Are we done choosing teams?" I tried to make myself as small as possible. Hopefully, they'd look over me and not notice my presence like they had done for the past thirteen years of my life.

"Just one left!" _Goddammit_ who was the idiot who- Oh. Yamamoto Takeshi.

"I can't play baseball. I swear. You really don't want me on your team." I waved my hands in front of my face wildly. I don't want to chance another concussion. I've heard that if you reached seven, you die.

"Don't be like that, Sawada! Just join our team!" A hand over my shoulder. A cheerful voice. Guess who.

"Are you serious?" I gave Yamamoto an incredulous look.

He gave me a blinding grin that was all _wrong_ and said, "Of course! I just have to keep the opposition from hitting, right?" I frowned and looked around me to see the reactions of others to his words. To my surprise, they just nodded.

"I… You… It's not right for a whole group to rely on one person for victory. I mean I don't really play baseball but baseball is a team sport right? Shouldn't everyone put in the same amount of effort?" Yamamoto gave me a sharp look, followed by a soul searching gaze. I fidgeted under his stare and quickly dislodged his arm from my shoulder.

"What? It's only right," I muttered, staring at my feet.

"You're alright," Yamamoto said. I looked up and stared at him when I saw a gentle smile on his face.

"If Yamamoto says so, then it's fine!" one of the other teammates butted in and immediately, I could see Yamamoto's expressive brown eyes deaden and his smile turn into something horrible.

"Um-" I started, only to be cut off by Yamamoto and that horrible, _horrible_ smile.

"C'mon Sawada! The game's starting!"

Faced with that smile, I couldn't say anything, and just submitted.

* * *

><p>In the end, we still lost; and since I had said that I was horrible at baseball, I became the scapegoat.<p>

Giving a loud sigh, I held the broom in one hand and watched as the other members of my team went home. So much for team spirit.

"Help has arrived!" a voice said from behind me. Given that I was busy focusing on the injustice of human behaviour, I was startled by Yamamoto's sudden announcement. Badly startled. Letting out a loud shriek, I jerked forwards and fell flat on my face, losing my grip on the broom. The broom proceeded to clatter to the ground beside me loudly. I felt my face heat up at my clumsy display.

Quickly scrambling to my feet I grabbed the broom up and started sweeping mechanically. I could feel that my face was still incredibly red. "Sorry you had to see that," I laughed nervously, "I mean, you've already seen my miserable attempt at baseball."

It's true that I tried my best, but the results of the match were pretty bad.

"It's no problem, Sawada. It's just baseball. You've gotten pretty good in other things. Like the volleyball tournament, and the kendo battle! Compared to me, who can only play baseball…"

I was silent, not knowing what to say to that. I hated the voice he was using, so broken and so _wrong_. I tried to cheer him up.

"Even if you can only play baseball, you're pretty good at it. Like a genius! You must have worked very hard!" Yes, I am the master at cheering people up. It is me.

"Yeah, but it's not going so well for me," Yamamoto admitted. I blinked.

"What?"

"Lately, no matter how much I practice, my average is dropping and my fielding is screwing up." A slump? "Tsuna, what should I do?"

My mouth dropped open. "You're asking me." I was so shocked my words couldn't even come out as a question.

"Just kidding!" There it was again, that horrible smile. "Lately you've been so reliable so I just…"

"Don't smile like that." The words were out before I could stop them.

"Smile like what?" He was still smiling that wrong smile. I tried to say something but nothing came out. I didn't want to seem like a pretentious little dork. I've never talked to him before, and now I stride up to him like a cocky jerk, telling him to change? What right do I have?

(What right do I have to have friends?)

"It's nothing." I gave an exasperated sigh and buried my face in my hands. Why can't I do anything right? There was a tense silence in the air.

"I…" I began slowly, "I think that you're putting too much pressure on yourself. You played fine during gym today. Then again, I don't play baseball so my advice may not be accurate. What do you think you should do?" Shut up, Tsuna, before you make things worse.

"Maybe I need to practice more?" He looked at me unsurely and I gave an encouraging smile in return.

"If that's what you think you should do, then do it."

Yamamoto gave me such a nice smile that I never once stopped to contemplate why my mind was whispering in disapproval and apprehension.

* * *

><p>"Yamamoto's going to jump off the roof! When he was practicing yesterday after school, he went too far and broke his arm!"<p>

Everything in me froze.

_(Oh dear. What're gonna do now, Dame-Tsuna? Pushing someone to suicide, you really are no good, huh?)_

And then white hot anger coursed through me. How dare he, how dare he?

_Your fault, your fault, your fault._

I ran up to the roof with a single mindedness that might've frightened me had I been in my right mind and pushed past the horde of people crowding around the entrance. There was a large space between the front of the crowd and Yamamoto, as if a single step closer would tip the young baseball player off the roof. I paid it no mind as I strode forward to the rusty chain link fence and glared at Yamamoto.

"What do you think you're doing?" I hissed. Yamamoto looked taken aback for a second before a self-deprecating smile crossed his face.

"If you came to stop me, it's no use," he told me.

"Bull_shit_! It's _never_ too late! It's idiotic to throw away your life for something as small as a broken arm!"

"Shut up, Sawada! You're suddenly so good at things, rising to the spotlight… You don't know how I feel! You don't know how it feels to want to die! You have _everything_!"

"You don't know _shit_ about me!" My chest heaved as I panted and my heart raced.

(A silver blade glinted in the dim light of the toilet. A hand lay on the knob of the tap, ready to turn it on.

It would be so easy.

_I don't belong here._

"Tsu-kun! It's time for dinner!"

A pause. The blade falls to the ground, the sound echoing in the empty bathroom, and the hand retracts from the tap, as if burnt.

_I can't go. She needs me._)

"The baseball god has thrown me away. I have nothing left."

"How about your father?" I challenged. The memory of the smiling man from the sushi shop flitted across my mind. "How would he feel, having to bury you?" I held his eyes and watched as pain bloomed in them.

"I…" He was unsure.

"Yamamoto Takeshi," my tone was softer now, "A broken arm can heal, a dead person is never coming back. There is still a tomorrow for you." I paused. "You know, I used to admire you. You kept going despite everything that life threw at you, and you kept smiling for other people, even if it hurt you to do so. But if you step over that ledge, then you're not the person I came to admire, but a coward."

I took a step back, my burning anger subdued to mere embers. I felt tired and weary.

"Still, it's always your choice," I finally said and turned to walk away.

"Wait, Sawada!" I hand gripped my back of my shirt and pulled. My body tensed up and my intuition started screaming in horror.

"No, Yamamoto-" My back hit the rusty fence and, of course, the unreliable thing _broke_. I crashed into Yamamoto, tipping him off the edge of the roof. Then, the both of us were falling.

(I don't want him to die.)

My right hand shot out to grab his arm as I shouted to him, "Don't let go!"

_(Do you want to do this? Really? Just for a random boy who would most likely never bother you again?)_

(...)

(Yes.)

Burning orange flames covered my left hand, but it wasn't enough. Yamamoto was staring at my hand in a strange mix of shock, horror and _ohmygodwhatisthat_. I didn't pay him any attention as I gritted my teeth and increased the flame output in that one hand, whilst trying my best to prevent my right hand from bursting into flames as well.

Using the flames as a thrust, I managed to slow down our descent. Still, it wasn't enough to escape injury. Twisting so that my body would hit the ground first, I braced for impact.

Thump!

My body hit the ground hard, face first, but, to my eternal surprise, I didn't break anything. Pretty sure my body was badly bruised, though, and my left hand was screaming in agony. The warmth on top of me shifted.

"Sawada…" Yamamoto breathed.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone about the orange fire," I muttered, still face down. I wondered if the reason I could take damage well was because my body trained itself with the many, many times I fell down stairs. "Oh, and call me Tsuna. Pretty sure we're already past the last name stage."

"I won't tell, Tsuna," he swore, a strange inflection in his tone. I wondered what it was. Reminded me a bit of Gokudera for some reason… Argh, can't think. I'll deal with it later.

"Thanks, Yamamoto-san." I was going to pass out soon.

"Oh, that's not fair!" he laughed. It was a beautiful laugh, much better than any I've heard from him in the past few years. "If I'm calling you Tsuna, you should call me Takeshi!"

I tried to turn to my side to smile at Yamamoto- no, Takeshi. "You should laugh like that more often, Tak'shi." Oh dear, I'm starting to slur my words. Damn, did I get a concussion again? "It's a beautiful laugh. I like the way you say my name too." Now I need to get Gokudera to say Tsuna and then all of us can be great friends. Best friends. Why are there black spots in my line of sight?

I could see that there was a slight dusting of pink on Takeshi's cheeks but the colour quickly faded out of them once he got a good look at me. "Tsuna, are you alright?"

"I'm sleepy."

"No, Tsuna! I think you have a concussion. Please stay awake, I'll bring you to the nurse's office!" He sounds really panicked. Then, his words registered in my brain. Another concussion? This sucks. Sleeping in a concussion is bad, too. I have to stay… awake…

"Tsuna!"

* * *

><p>I woke up to the sound of someone shouting.<p>

"-your fault tenth is in the hospital-"

I let out a groan and tried to turn over to block out the noise. Instantly, the shouting stopped and I felt someone run to my side.

"Tenth! You're okay! Shall I get rid of the baseball idiot for you?" Oh, it was Gokudera.

"No, it's fine." Why is everything so loud?

"Tsuna! I forgot to say this earlier but thanks for saving me! Haha!"

"Don't call tenth so casually, baseball freak!"

I wanted to cry. The noise wasn't helping my headache.

"Gokudera-kun, Takeshi can call me Tsuna if he wants. I'd also like it if you would call me Tsuna too." Ah, did I say something wrong? Why was he looking at me like he was about to cry? Did I do something wrong again? A taboo in the Mafia world, perhaps? I've always known that I"m too straightforward for my own good. Oh my god he's crying. Send help.

"Tenth, you are truly too kind! I am unworthy of your presence!" I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

"A-ah, um, Well, we're friends right? So we should call each other by our first names…" I trailed off when there was no visible change in Gokudera's state and shot a distressed look at Takeshi. The smile on his face took my breath away. I remembered that smile from many, many years ago, when things were much simpler and life easier to live.

"I really like this smile," I told him bluntly, "It's been forever since I've seen you smiling such a nice smile." There was silence in the room as Takeshi's face slowly turned red.

"Baka-Tsuna." The space beside me dipped down. I was wondering when he'd show up.

"Hello Reborn. How have you been?"

"Congratulations on the new Family member, Tsuna." I paused. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw both Takeshi and Gokudera freeze up, but I paid them no attention.

"Takeshi's not going to be involved in this. He's a normal boy with a whole life ahead of him. I didn't save his life just to take it away again," I hissed, eyes cold. "Besides, he can be my friend just fine without being in the-" I glanced towards Takeshi who now looked confused, "uh, whatever I'm in."

"What _are_ you in?" Takeshi asked. I hesitated.

_He deserves to know the truth._

(I don't want him to leave me.)

"The Mafia. Baka-Tsuna's going to be the tenth generation boss of the Vongola Family, the largest Family in the Mafia world," Reborn answered. I looked down at my hands. Now, he'll start to keep his distance. Well, it's only right. I mean, who'd _want_ to get involved in the Mafia?

_(Yeah, it's not like you're worth it, Dame-Tsuna.)_

"How do I join?"

My head shot up and I gaped at Takeshi. What…?

He was smiling at me. "You saved me, Tsuna. I'd go anywhere for you." There was a bout of silence in the room before Takeshi broke it again. "Ah, does this mean I can be your right hand man?" he laughed. Gokudera spluttered.

"Excuse me? I'll have you know that I'm the tenth's right hand man!" he growled out, "I refuse to accept an idiot like you into the Family!"

As the two of them got into a lively argument, I could only sit there and smile in guilty relief.

I didn't want Takeshi to go. That's why I didn't argue with him.

I really am a bad person, huh?

* * *

><p>"I would like a strawberry cheesecake and a chocolate marshmallow pie please!"<p>

I don't know if this was even mentioned in the anime my brother watched, but there is this place in Namimori which sells desserts that are _orgasmic_.

"Can I have a marshmallow pie without the marshmallows?"

"Excuse me? But marshmallows are the best part!"

"Without marshmallows? My, you really have no taste in food, do you?"

I turned towards the poor, mistaken person who made the order at the same time the boy beside me did, criticising her choice of food indignantly. I glanced at the boy in surprise, and froze.

("Y'know, I never really liked people with purple eyes," my brother told me, "Especially the ones with silver-white hair. Man, those guys are _crazy_ and _wow_ do they have _issues_.")

"Oh, I never expected to see you so soon, Tsunayoshi-kun." The boy gave a dangerous smirk and led me to a table at the corner of the dessert shop. "Sit down, we have so _much_ to talk about!"

_Help me_.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: <strong>Yeah we all know who's that.

I dislike the ending for this chapter. Ugh. A bit too abrupt.

Anyway, thanks for all the favourites and follows. (:

Ah yes, the slight deviation from canon occurs. Also I really want to save the Kokuyo gang but have no idea how. Oh well.

I can't see italics when I'm on google chrome in my phone. That's horrible. Can you guys see the italics?

All27?

**Eovin:** Thank you for the delightful review! I'm glad you enjoy the story~ I hope I can continue performing to your expectations.

Full quote

"When Allah tests you, it is never to destroy you. When He removes something from your possession it is only in order to empty your hands for an even greater gift."

_—Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah_

(and before you ask, I'm not Muslim. Sorry about that. Just thought it was a meaningful quote.)


	5. Chapter 5

**Announcement **there will be no pairings but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna put in fanservice for the hell of it. Yeah. Both heterosexual and homosexual, but you don't have to pay attention to it if you don't want to. Byakuran's a teasing meanie that likes to see Tsuna's flustered face.

Mostly because I can't write pure romance for my life. I'll focus on the plot (which is the character development of Sawada Tsunayoshi? idk)

Also I have run out of inspiration. You will wait long for the second chapter. Sorry 'bout that.

If you want me to write anything specific, just let me know. I'll see if I can fit it in and I'll credit you if I do.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>If the multiverse theory is true, then there is a universe where it isn't<strong>

* * *

><p>"So, you're a hacker?"<p>

"No, I'm not."

"Part of the disciplinary committee?"

"Thank heavens, _no_."

"Do you by any chance have a twin brother or sister?"

"Not that I know of."

This guy has been asking me increasingly strange and invasive questions about my personal life. The worst part? He knows my name and I still don't know his. Well, I shouldn't need to be very afraid, though. Judging from his questions, if he's a stalker, he's a very bad one.

Purple eyes stare into mine with a frightening intensity. I begin to fidget and stare down at my lap. Seriously, who was this guy and what did he want from me?

"Judging from what you said, you're painfully normal. There's not much different from him," the creepy stalker-esque guy mused.

_Who are you comparing me to and will you stop it?_

"Maa, the only difference is that I've gained my memories earlier and we've met way before we should've. Wait." He hit his fist against the palm of his other hand as if he just had an epiphany. Then, he smiled at me a strange smile that I definitely didn't like the look of.

Grabbing both of my hands, he leaned forward, over the table and into my personal bubble. "This must be a love story between Tsunayoshi-kun and me!"

I couldn't help it. I hit him.

* * *

><p>"Tenth, who is this?" Hayato asked me. He seemed to be glaring slightly at the unwanted guest that had attached itself to me.<p>

"Ah, this is Gesso Byakuran. I met him earlier today at the dessert shop." I tried to give a reassuring smile. I really did. However, it was rather difficult to do so when Byakuran had absolutely zero sense of personal boundaries. I am ninety-seven percent sure he's doing this on purpose.

"You guys seem very close!" Takeshi commented, smiling with his eyes closed. It was by no means a fake smile, but there was something off about it. It seemed kind of… sharp.

Byakuran had both his arms on my shoulder and his chin on my head. I hated being so short.

"Of course we're close!" Byakuran smirked, "After all, Tsunayoshi-kun and I are-"

I twisted out of his grasp and tried to push him away from me. Far, far away, where he can no longer speak such embarrassing things about our non-existent romance. Where in the world did he get that idea from, anyway?

"Baka-Tsuna, a Mafia boss shouldn't give out his personal information so easily." Something - or should I say someone - landed on my head. Well, I was wondering when he'd show up.

"Good thing I have no aspirations to be a Mafia boss, huh?" I answered Reborn, smiling slightly, "I wouldn't even know what to do with the power. Buy every child a hamster, maybe?" I briefly entertained the idea but then scrapped it when I realised that it means many hamsters would be dying.

Reborn turned his attention to Byakuran and I could feel the atmosphere turn cold. "What is the heir to the Gesso Famiglia doing here?"

_What_.

I gaped at Byakuran, and then sighed in resignation. Of course he's in the Mafia. Who isn't nowadays?

Byakuran beamed at Reborn. "Because I wanted to see my beloved Vongola Decimo, of course!" He tried to hug me again but I evaded his grasp by hurling myself to the other side of the street. Of course, as my luck would dictate it, I crashed landed into somebody. Surprisingly, I did not fall down.

"You alright? That was some extreme fall you did there!"

Well, that explains it.

The arms that caught me then held me up at arm's length. Literally. My toes were barely brushing the ground. Grey eyes widened upon catching sight of my face and a large grin spread across his face. Apprehension started creeping up in me.

"Sawada! Join the boxing club!" he yelled, pumping his right fist in the air. Without his support, I was unceremoniously dropped to the ground with a loud 'thump!'.

_I knew it._

"Tenth!" Hayato was suddenly at my side, helping me back up and glaring at Sasagawa Ryohei. I had to quickly defuse the situation before the dynamites were brought in.

Hah. Defuse.

"Hello Sasagawa-senpai," I greeted the boxing enthusiast politely. He must be on one of his many, _many_ daily jogs. I wonder where he gets the energy from. Then, I processed his question. "Me? Boxing club?" I asked him incredulously. Yeah sure, I could hit others but did I look like someone who could withstand a punch to the face? Haha, haha, haha, no. I'd fly out of the boxing ring immediately.

"Yes! I am the captain of the boxing club and my motto is 'Extreme'! I've heard much about you from my younger sister!" He pumped his fist up into the air again. I vaguely wondered if he had ever needed to use an 'indoor voice'.

"Ah, Kyoko-chan, right?" I was sixty-eight percent sure that she was his sister. He nodded and I inwardly cheered. Yes! I didn't make a fool out of myself!

He placed his hands on my shoulders and gave me a large, blinding grin. "I welcome you to the boxing club, Sawada!"

I blinked. _What?_

"I'll wait for you in the boxing dojo later!" He continued jogging away, ignoring that fact that I did not answer him and that it was a Sunday. Were we even allowed to be in school on weekends? I really hoped so, considering the disciplinary committee… No, this wasn't the problem here!

"But I don't want to join the boxing club!" I shouted at Sasagawa-senpai. Of course, he didn't hear me, just smiled and waved at me as he jogged away. Argh, no one listens to me! First, the whole Mafia boss situation. Then, becoming my subordinate when I just wanted friends. And now, this. Coerced into the boxing club. _Fantastic_.

"Tsuna, are you okay?" Takeshi's voice made me aware that I had been staring at the place Sasagawa-senpai was for quite some time. I shook myself out of my daze and gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Tenth, is that… lawn-head disturbing you? Do you need me to get rid of him?" Hayato was suddenly in my line of sight, hands full of (thankfully) unlit dynamite.

"No thanks, Hayato," I replied, eying his dynamite warily, "I can deal with this myself." At the mention of his first name, red flooded his face and he dropped his dynamites. I could almost swear that there was steam coming out of his ears or something. Ah well, he'll get used to me saying his name soon.

I crouched down to picked up the dynamites and a pair of black shoes entered my line of sight.

"You're going to the gym," Reborn told me. I didn't bother to argue with him. What good would that do? I'd still have to go anyway. I had very, very little control over this life.

(It wasn't even mine to begin with in the first place.)

I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't manage to catch the strange and slightly foreboding look Byakuran gave me.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, Tsuna, you just have to tell him that you don't want to join the boxing club.<em> It shouldn't be too hard. I tell myself as I stand in front of the doors to the boxing dojo.

I felt a little bad coming here without Hayato and Takeshi, but I strangely couldn't find them and invite them along with me. Hey, at least Byakuran's gone. That guy really gives me the creeps.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and I barely kept myself from shrieking and losing my balance.

"Sawada! I was waiting for you!" Sasagawa-senpai shouted. He seems to be louder than usual. "Upon hearing your reputation," he continued as he invited me into the dojo, "the elder of Muay Thai came all the way from Thailand!"

"You're jo...king…" I stared at the little not-baby standing on a post. Sure, he might be wearing something else but _seriously_. Surely a goatee and a blue elephant hat won't make that big of a difference.

"This is Master Paopao!" Sasagawa-senpai introduced. I squinted at him, trying to see if he really didn't recognise Reborn.

He didn't.

"I want to see a match between the captain and the new member," Reborn told me. I stared at him, unamused.

"I seriously don't get how you could convince him about your identity," I told him, "Is it the hat? It's a nice touch, I have to admit. I quite like it." I tried not to think about his words. He _must_ be joking, right?

"Hm, you're right! A spar between Sawada and I would be an extremely great way to measure our skills!" Oh my god Sasagawa-senpai, I cannot believe you.

"Just wait a second, Sasagawa-senpai-"

"Good luck Tsuna-kun!" Wait, don't tell me…

"Do your best, Tsuna!"

"Don't lose, tenth!"

So they were here this whole time?!

I turned back to Reborn. "Please tell me that you guys are joking."

* * *

><p>They weren't joking.<p>

_Dodge_.

Holy shit, that guy's fast. What did he call his attack again? Extreme Right? Does that mean he can only punch with his right hand?

… Yeah, that was a stupid question.

"Extreme Straight!"

Welp, I was wrong.

_Dodge all of them. Blocks will only cause damage to your own body._

"Join the boxing club, Sawada!"

"I must" _dodge_ "apologise, Sasa-" _dodge_ "-gawa-senpai," _dodge dodge dodge holy shit he is terrifying _"but I don't" _dodge dodge hey is he even listening to me_ "want to join the boxing club!" _Punch him!_

My fist shot out and grazed the side of his cheek. Shit, I'm wide open now.

A quick uppercut to the chin from Sasagawa-senpai and I flew out of the ring, slamming into a wall. I hissed in pain, thinking about whether or not I should just pretend to faint in order to avoid more hurt. Like damn, I never wanted to do this in the first place, anyway!

(But it's an insult, isn't it? To treat someone's beloved sport so callously…)

I slowly stood up from the rubble (rubble?! Just how strong _is_ this guy?) and rubbed my chin, wincing in pain. Hayato was at my side in an instant, babbling something about nerve and injustice and _"how dare he injure tenth like that"_. I couldn't quite understand his words due to the Italian accent combined with the sheer speed of his words. His words then took on a familiar tone and I hurriedly tried to placate him before the dynamite got pulled out.

"Tsuna, are you okay?" Takeshi was on the other side, near-manhandling while checking me for injuries. Frankly, the both of them were rather smothering and I had absolutely no idea how to tell them to back off without sounding rude.

"I like you, Sawada!" Sasagawa-senpai was in front of me now. The rest of the people in the dojo were staring at the scene we were making. This was like the volleyball tournament again and I had to stop myself from shrinking into the shadows. This was so weird after thirteen years of minimal attention from even my own mother.

(But… it's kind of pleasant, I guess.)

"I can see the potential in you! I'll definitely welcome you into the boxing club!" he grinned brightly. My mouth dropped open in slight disbelief.

_Didn't I already tell him that I don't want to join the boxing club?_

"I like you too Sasagawa Ryohei." Ah, that was Reborn. Speaking of which…

"Hey guys, where do you think Reborn got his new hat from?" I asked Hayato and Takeshi. They looked at me strangely.

"What new hat, Tsuna? Do you mean his fedora?"

"No, that one!" I pointed at Reborn, who was currently speaking to Sasagawa-senpai and attempting to con- I mean, conv_ince_ him to join the Mafia. You can try, dear Reborn, but that guy's denser than iridium. Good luck with that.

"But tenth, that's Master Paopao!" Hayato seemed to believe his words. Takeshi too. I stared at the both of them blankly.

"You know what? Just forget it."

* * *

><p>I wonder if it's one of those Anime Things. Reborn seems to defy all sense of reality, after all.<p>

After much persuasion, I finally got Hayato and Takeshi to let me walk home by myself. It's not that I hate them or anything, I just didn't really have the energy to properly socialise with anyone at the moment. I guess I should be thankful Reborn isn't here as well. Instead, he's off doing god knows what.

I really did want to ask him how he did his reality defying, though.

As I crossed the street, something caught my eye. I tilted my head to the side and gave a thoughtful look.

_Hey, I'm technically a main character, right? I kind of wonder what I can get away with…_

A smile graced my lips and I opened the door.

"Hello! Welcome to Miura Costumes! How may I help you?"

* * *

><p>Miura costumes is pretty much one of the best costume shops I've ever gone to in my two lives. When I specified to the helpful salesperson that I would like a headband that would not come off, they gave me a headband that <em>would. Not. Come. Off.<em>

I probably should have specified that I didn't want to put it on right then and was, in fact, saving it for next weekend. Well, at least whatever strange glue they used would last for only a day. I guess I could start my experiment early…

Who was a kidding, I was going to be a laughing stock by the end of tomorrow. And just where did that terrifying salesperson get the glue, anyway? Was it what Reborn used?

"Just what is on your head?" Reborn's squeaky voice came from beside me. I shrieked in surprise and pretty much fell off my chair. Luckily, I managed to prevent my head from slamming against the floor. Didn't mean I wasn't hurt, though.

"Ouch, Reborn! That _hurt_! Please don't sneak up on my like that!" I whined, hands automatically flying to my head to clamp down on the headband.

"A Mafia boss should not be caught off guard," Reborn told me absentmindedly, more focused on what was on my head. He reached out, grasped the end of fluffy brown fabric and _pulled_.

"Ow ow ow ow _ow_!" I shrieked as strands of my hair was pulled along with the fabric and my centre of balance was disrupted yet again. "Don't pull them, they're _sensitive_," I hissed and yanked the fabric out of Reborn's little hands, making a show of rubbing at them.

The little not-baby stared at me dully. "Since when did you have rabbit ears?" he asked. I tried not to give anything away as I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

"What rabbit ears?" I feigned ignorance although I was _fully aware_ that I had a pair of lop bunny ears hanging down the side of my head. And yes, that was what I bought from the costume shop. A bunny ear headband. You could tell that it was bought on a whim because I really, _really_ regret my decision right now.

Reborn continued to stare at me and I tried my utmost best to continue being confused. A battle of wills in which I would most probably lose.

Then, the most unimaginable thing happened. Reborn _looked away_. I fought to keep from sighing in relief and just stared at his retreating figure for about a second more before moving back to the bed.

I can't believe that he just let the subject go, just like that. Was it considered as one of those "Anime Things" or did I have to prepare myself for later horror?

… I'll think about this tomorrow.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Tsu-" Takeshi's eyes widened, "na…"<p>

"Tenth… you…" My two friends were staring at me. This is mortifying but from what I've learnt, if I pretend everything's fine, people would play along too. It's also kind of amusing to watch their reactions too, once I've gotten past the, y'know, total utter embarrassment that came with wearing rabbit ears.

If you wanted to know, my mother didn't notice anything different about me this morning. She's so inobservant I can't help but worry about her every day. How would I go to university this way?

"Yes, what is it?" I asked confused expression fixed firmly on my face. A beat passed and then the two looked away from me, blushing furiously. Now I was really confused. The one that should be blushing is me! Why are they blushing instead?

Adolescent boys are strange creatures.

"Hurry up, Baka-Tsuna, or you're going to be late," Reborn told me. I smiled at him gratefully. He was such a caring tutor.

No, I'm not suffering from some strange form of stockholm syndrome.

"C'mon guys! I'll race you to the gates!"

I lost, of course.

* * *

><p>Hayato yawned. Takeshi yawned. I carried on sipping my juice pack.<p>

"Did you guys not sleep well last night?" I asked, trying to make conversation, "You're yawning."

"Ah no, I'm yawning because I'm bored, haha!" Takeshi told me. "Don't you think it's a little boring now, Tsuna?"

"Oi, how dare you suggest that the tenth's company is boring?" Hayato immediately came to my defence. I quickly cut in before things got explosive.

"Um, personally I don't think it's boring. I'm quite happy just being in your company." I gave a cheerful, honest smile. Hayato and Takeshi stared at me as their faces slowly reddened. Right, I said something wrong again.

Something sharp and prickly jabbed me in the side and I almost fell over in shock.

"Ciaossu."

Ah, it's Reborn. Of course it's Reborn. Why wouldn't it be Reborn? I looked down at him and paused.

"Just what are you wearing?" He was a brown spiky ball. What was he supposed to be, anyway?

"I could ask you the same thing," he shot back. I blinked. Ah, almost fell for his trap over there.

"Ah, am I wearing anything weird?" I frowned and made a show of checking my clothes. I could almost feel the irritation coming out of Reborn. He really doesn't like not being in the know, huh?

"Owowowow!" He punished me by rapidly poking me with his costume. "What are you supposed to be, anyway?"

"A sea urchin." I cannot believe him. Takeshi laughed, thinking that Reborn was joking. Man, I wish.

"This is a camouflage for spying on people commuting on long distance trains," he informed me. I stayed quiet and patiently waited for him to explain just why a _giant brown sea urchin_ is the ideal disguise for trains.

"Everyone's too scared of the spikes to come close so it's really easy to relax." I blinked. Ah, that sounds logical. Not.

"That has nothing to do with spying!" I protested.

"One of my lovers made it for me for a project in Home Economics when she was in elementary school," he carried on, ignoring me as per usual.

"Lovers?! You have lovers with _that_ body?" Those people would get arrested for pedophlia!

Why do I suddenly feel so faint?

"People who touch these spikes will go to heaven in exactly thirty seconds."

_I swear to go-_

Everything went black.

* * *

><p><em>Slam!<em> The ground vibrated, rousing me from the darkness of my sleep. Also, the ground was strangely soft. I opened my eyes to see that I was on a couch, and in a very pretty room. Reborn was sitting in the couch opposite me, calmly drinking a cup of coffee.

"Two," a cold voice said, "Is it over now?" The voice immediately set off alarm bells in my head and my intuition started screaming at me to _leave now_.

I immediately shot up to a sitting position and scanned the room for Hayato and Takeshi. They were slumped against the couch I was on, unconscious. A tall teen with jet black hair and icy cold grey eyes stood nearby, his hands in his pockets, and staring at me.

_H-Hibari-senpai!_

"Hiee!" I tried to suppress my violent reaction, taking a deep breath. I put in effort to lessen the trembling of my body as I locked eyes with the most dangerous person in the school. "What happened here?" I asked, inwardly giving a sigh of relief when my voice did not tremble. I shot off the couch and put myself in between Hibari-senpai (threat, higher level, escape _immediately_) and my friends.

I did not budge when Hibari-senpai walked closer to me, only glaring up at him defiantly. Like hell I'd let him hurt my friends.

"Headwear is not allowed in school premises," he said menacingly. I paused for a moment, trying to process his words. To be honest, I was expecting some generic villain line, like 'Out of my way peasant' or something, but not this.

_This guy… is a real stickler for rules, isn't he? Well, he _is_ the head of the disciplinary committee…_

I opened my mouth in order to explain to him that even if I wanted to take the damn thing off, I _couldn't_, but he got impatient. His hand shot out and immediately began tugging on the ears, effectively pulling my hair along with it.

"Owowowowow! Hiiiieeee! Hibari-senpai, it hurts! Stop pulling them!" Miura Costumes' glue is on another level of strength. But seriously, I'd rather the damn thing come off than go through this hellish pain.

"It's… attached to you," Hibari-senpai said in a deadpan. His hands were still holding onto the ears and I wasted no time in snatching them back and rubbing my head to soothe the pain.

"Of course it's attached to me! It wouldn't hurt that much otherwise!" I shot back without thinking. Ouch… Am I tearing up? I think I'm tearing up. Shit, now Reborn's gonna hurt me and go 'Mafia Bosses don't cry' in his irritating squeaky voice of his. Well Reborn, you know what? _I don't care._ I'm not going to be a bloody-

Why is Hibari-senpai petting me.

I stared up at the fearsome Hibari-senpai with wide watery eyes, equal parts shocked and terrified. I froze under his hand, not moving a muscle. What is he doing and, more importantly, _why_?!

_This is the most terrifying moment of my life._

"Hi-Hibari-senpAIII!" I shrieked when he suddenly shoved me away from him. I stumbled backwards but quickly righted my centre of gravity to prevent falling on and hurting Takeshi and Hayato. I quickly put a little space between him, watching him warily, but still planting myself firmly in front of my friends.

Hibari-senpai stared at me for a while longer, and something in his gaze make me think of a predator stalking his prey. I forced back a shudder and continued to put up a brave front. I knew I was hopelessly outclassed, and the best bet was to escape but…

(I can't just leave them here.)

_(Just go. Save yourself. Why should you care about these pathetic adolescents, anyway?)_

(They're my friends. I won't leave them.)

_(Hah, you foolish child. Are you trying to be a martyr? One day you'll die because you're so naive. So weak.)_

(I'm already dead anyway, so why does it matter if I die again to save my precious people?)

Hibari-senpai's eyes moved to Hayato and I automatically shifted so that I was blocking his view more. So that I can easier intercept anything he might try. Immediately, Hibari-senpai's eyes flickered back to me. He did not miss the miniscule movement. A tense silence filled the air as we stared at each other, waiting for… something.

A coffee bean flew in between us and impacted the war with a barely audible tap.

_Well I guess _that's_ something._

Hibari-senpai turned to Reborn and I immediately found what I was unconsciously searching for.

An opening!

I quickly grabbed the back of Hayato and Takeshi's clothes and hauled ass out of the place.

Thank god that was over.

* * *

><p>We sat on the roof as I patched Hayato and Takeshi up. It took a while for me to talk them into letting me see their wounds. Irritating boys and their stupid big-ass egos.<p>

"Ciaossu."

"You intentionally made us meet Hibari-senpai, didn't you?" I asked my tutor without missing a beat, still disinfecting wounds. ("Hold still, Hayato. Don't squirm." "Sorry tenth!")

"Yes I did," he admitted cooly, "You're lucky to leave with only bruises and scratches." I felt my blood boil with indignation. Couldn't he at least try to sound more apologetic? I mean, _hello_, you pit us up against the scariest person in Namimori!

"Okay. You're my home tutor, so I guess you have every right to put me in danger. But why must you drag my friends along with me? If you want to hurt someone, just hurt me! I can't stand it when my friends get hurt!" I shot Reborn a scathing glare, uncaring about the consequences that may follow after.

"They're your Family. They'll be with you regardless, and they will protect you at the cost of their life."

"But I don't want them to get hurt!"

"Then you'll have to be stronger."

I paused in the middle of preparing a retort. Reborn was right, I needed to get stronger. I knew how to fight, but only as a sport. I was utterly _foolish_ to think that I could protect myself with what little training I did. I won't even be able to hold my own ground. Not against Hibari-senpai, and definitely not against anyone from the Mafia.

(I need to get stronger).

(For them.)

"Tsuna," Takeshi said suddenly and I jolted out of my thoughts.

"Ah sorry. I'll help you with your wounds in a moment."

"Tsuna. We'll get stronger too. Together." Takeshi sounded so serious, similar to the time he all but pledged eternal loyalty to me.

"Yeah, tenth. We'll protect you, and we won't get hurt again, so you don't have to worry so much," Hayato continued, conviction in his eyes. My own eyes widened at their words and they started to burn slightly.

"I… I…"

(I don't deserve them.)

I discreetly wiped at my eyes.

"Thank you…"

* * *

><p>"Your ears are gone." Hibari-senpai was waiting at the gate the next morning. I tried not to twitch as his greeting.<p>

"They're still here." I pointed to my human ears, feigning ignorance. I knew what he was talking about; the horrid headband from yesterday that I finally managed to detach and dispost. The whole incident would remain buried deep within my subconscious, right there with ball games and flying incidents.

They _never_ happened.

Never mind that there was absolutely no change in the way my classmates treated me yesterday, as if they didn't even realise I had an extra set of ears (or that I even existed for that matter). The mental scar of simply wearing those things and getting them yanked about was horrible enough.

Hibari-senpai patting my head, you say? Hah, you're delusional. Totally and utterly delusional.

_It never happened, you hear me?_

Hibari-senpai was staring at me, scrutinising me. I felt like a bug under his gaze. Hayato and Takeshi were on either side of me, tense and ready to move into action at any moment.

"You still look like a helpless bunny without them," Hibari-senpai said bluntly. I flinched minisculey at the utter bluntness of his words. Then, he smirked and turned around, walking away. "See you, little herbivore."

… I had a feeling that my school life was going to get a _lot_ more troublesome.

* * *

><p><strong>Omake <strong>(because why not)

"Oya, fancy meeting you here, Tsunayoshi-kun!" Byakuran greeted me from outside my house. At the gates. Wow, what a coincidence.

I could feel the horror building up in me as his eyes settled on the bunny ears. His purple eyes literally sparkled and I _knew_ he was going to saw something horrible and inappropriate about them.

"Is this a Loveless alternate universe?" he asked, a smile playing on his lips. _Eh?_ I stared at him blankly.

Byakuran walked up to me and whispered in my ear, telling me about Loveless. My face slowly became redder and redder until I couldn't take it anymore.

I tore off the headband (it came out, thank _god_) and threw it at his face with incredible force. Then, I rushed into the house and locked the door.

I freaking _hate_ Byakuran Gesso

(That's a lie.)

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note<strong> Yay it is complete. Not betaed

(FYI in Loveless, apparently the only way to remove them animal ears is to lose your virginity. So. Yeah. I don't watch Loveless though, my friend does so idk)

I have half a mind to write an omake in other people's point of view on Tsuna's rabbit ear day. Especially Hibari Kyoya lol. Gee, I wonder what's going on through his mind when he sees little bunny Tsuna. btw the bunny idea literally came to me in the middle of the bloody night; I have no idea how it happened.

I had problems with Sasagawa Ryohei's part ugh, so it's kinda forced. Still, I hope you guys like it. If you don't, I guess you could tell me which part you don't like and why? (even if it's a simple 'idk i just don't feel it', it's fine) Well, unless you hate the entire story. Then I'm sorry (?), but why are you still reading this.

Ah, haven't gotten any flames yet. The people who read this story are sweethearts

**Eovin** Byakuran's my favourite antagonist too! Thank you for your high praises, I was literally blushing after reading your review. I hope this chapter is up to your standards as well! (insert happy face here)

**FreeWeirdGal** Yes. Yes he is.

**Hikari Kaiya** Thank you~ I do hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

**Akayuki Sawada** He should run. And Tsuna _always_ has the worst luck. It come hand in hand with being a protagonist.

**sheriko** I'm interested in your thought progress. What kind of deal? I hope it's not a sell your soul kind.

**sin kx** Thank you! Ah, I've never actually tried strawberry cheesecake before, but normal cheesecakes _do_ taste good.

**Kazuki Akira** Yes, this story is staying canon in terms or pairing. Your review was very insightful and really did help me come to a decision about what paths this story should take, so thank you for your kind feedback!

**Marmora F. An Nora** (interesting name you have there) Thank you~

Quotes and stuff

"If the multiverse theory is true, then there's a universe where it isn't." - _smokywarfare on tumblr_

Iridium is the densest element on earth, 22.65g/cm3

IMO Tsuna _knows_ how to socialise - in theory. Only in theory. He's rusty after thirteen long years of nothing, and tends to be really blunt (like Kuroko from Kuroko no Basuke). Yeah.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: **A bit short today. Sorry 'bout that.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Insanity is hereditary: You can get it from your children.<strong>

* * *

><p>Two weeks after the incident with Hibari-senpai and my friends were still following me around. I'd like to say that it was endearing, having my friends so protective over him, but it wasn't. Not even at the beginning.<p>

There was a fine line between protective and smothering, and those two rocketed over it a long time ago. Hell, even Reborn agreed that they were too much! Thankfully, Reborn could tell that I was about to cave under the pressure and hence called Hayato and Takeshi away from vigorous training. _Very_ vigorous training.

I'd probably get dragged into one way or another but I didn't really mind. What was more important was to enjoy my freedom while I could.

Since I was free, I had offered to go for a grocery run in place of my mother. She was going to meet her friends for dinner tonight, anyway, so I must as well allow her to relax before it. Of course, I had an ulterior motive: I wanted to stock up on my candy and snack supply. Every teenager somewhere had some guilty pleasure, and mine was sweet things.

No, I don't care what Reborn'll think.

I was pretty happy, actually. The bag of candy I bought would last for about two months. They were my favourites, too! Man, I can't wait to share them with my friends.

Friends… I still couldn't believe it. The mere thought of it made me giddy with delight.

A choked sob jerked me out of my thoughts and I looked around for the source of the noise. It was soft, muted, but high-pitched, so it probably belonged to a girl or a really young child.

I walked around a bit and soon pinpointed that the sound was coming out from a rather shaded alley up ahead. While I should've, I didn't bother hesitating before walking in. The lighting in the alley wasn't too good, so it took me quite some time to make out a small figure curled up in a corner of the alley. They couldn't be more than five or six years old, and had the _strangest_ fashion sense. Or perhaps their caretaker was the one with the horrid fashion sense.

I mean, you don't see many five year olds with afros, do you?

The young child was muttering in between sniffles, and didn't notice me until I spoke.

"Hello, are you lost? Do you need any help?" I gave the young child, a boy, a gentle smile. Watery emerald eyes peered at me through dirty, messy brown hair.

"The great Lambo-san doesn't need any help," he sniffed petulantly. At the sound of his voice, my intuition flared up and told me to _leave, leave the child alone, avoid the trouble that will eventually come_, but I didn't listen to it. How could I just leave a defenceless kid alone?

I sat down beside the boy and dug through my bag of sweets for my favourite snack – marshmallows with grape jelly filling. I opened one of the many, _many_ packets and offered one to him. There was a moment of hesitation before he accepted my offer.

The two of us ate in relative silence, with an occasional sniffle from Lambo. I waited patiently and, after a few minutes, the boy broke the silence.

"Lambo-san's family told Lambo-san that he needed to prove himself," he began. I listened to him attentively, waiting for him to continue.

"They told Lambo-san that he needs to kill the super-first class hitman Reborn before Lambo-san could come home." My blood ran cold. Kill Reborn?

"Who told you to do that, Lambo-kun?" I asked carefully. Lambo couldn't be a super-baby like Reborn; he didn't act all scary and Spartan like. But… what if it was just an act?

"Lambo-san's cousins told him."

"My cousins told me," I corrected automatically and absentmindedly, mind racing with the possibilities of the situation.

"How about your parents?" I finally asked. Lambo scowled.

"Lambo-san's _madre_ said he couldn't do it, that it was too dangerous," he muttered indignantly. He suddenly stood up, clenching his fists. "But Lambo-san will show her. He'll show them all! Lambo-san's going to be the Bovino Family boss and make all of humanity bow down to me!"

I stared at him, somewhat shell-shocked. Right. Okay. Where's the evil laughter and the lightning flashes? The ominous music? I suddenly paused in my thoughts when I noticed something.

_Madre… kind of means mother right? How about his father?_

I snuck a look at him, taking in his tear-stained face and prideful bravado. He… probably wasn't that kind of threat. He won't hurt Reborn. Besides, didn't Reborn say he was the best hitman in the world, or something?

And besides, I can't just _leave_ him out here.

"… Say would you like to come to my house for dinner?"

* * *

><p>A good, balanced diet is important for a growing boy.<p>

"Lambo-san doesn't like veggies!"

"It's 'I don't like veggies', Lambo-kun. Also, you can grow taller if you eat them!"

"Does Tsuna-san eat lots of vegetables?"

"… Yes."

"Then why is Tsuna-san still so short?"

"… Eat your food, Lambo-kun."

"What the hell did you bring back, Baka-Tsuna?" a deadpan voice came from the doorway. I blinked and a smile spread across my face. Ah, Reborn was back! This meant Hayato and Takeshi were back too! I know I complained about them before, but I really did miss them.

I turned to the doorway to greet him and promptly froze when I saw furious black eyes, directed to… Lambo-kun who was on my lap. Thank god it wasn't me. I relaxed again.

Of course, Lambo then decided to leap onto the table, missing the plate of food by mere centimetres, and pulled a shockingly pink grenade out of his afro. At this point I didn't really question things anymore. With all the things in my life, having hammerspace hair doesn't really seem like much.

Of course, the grenade was a whole different story.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Hayato pulling out his dynamite and Takeshi tightening his grip on a… baseball bat? Well, why not?

I wasn't quite ready to have hell exploding out in the dining room, so I closed my hand over Lambo's hand and gave him a sweet smile. A dangerously sweet smile. With an unnatural calm, I spoke, "No weapons at the dining table, Lambo-kun. And what did I say about leaving the table before you're done?"

The boy immediately sits back down in his chair. Smart child.

"Tenth, why is a child from the Bovino Family here?" Hayato asked the question the world was dying to know about. The million dollar question. Depending on how I answer, Reborn may or may not murder me in my sleep, Hayato may or may not blow up, and Takeshi… Well Takeshi won't really do much damage.

I always knew there was a reason he was my favourite child.

"I found Lambo-kun in an alleyway earlier today. You can't expect me to not care, can you?" I threw in my attempt at puppy-dog eyes for good measure. No one could withstand the puppy-dog eyes, not even my father.

He always bought me whatever I wanted when I looked at him that way.

"N-no, of course not, tenth," Hayato stuttered out, face a little pink. I then turned my Look to Takeshi, to see if he had any problems with my actions. He didn't, though he was a little pink too. Reborn must have done a number on them. Well, either that or…

Nah. That wasn't possible. I _refuse_ to believe it.

Speaking of training, I gestured to the dining table. "Go on and take a seat! I cooked enough for all of us. I'll pop into the kitchen real quick to bring out the food." I gave all four of them a brief warning smile – _Try something when I'm away, I _dare_ you_ – before walking into the kitchen.

The kitchen was probably soundproofed or something, because when I came out, it was basically the Armageddon in a room. The dining room. The dining room with the bloody ten thousand dollar table my father bought for my mother from goodness knows where. The table that was now _ruined_.

I sighed and counted to ten in my head. I also chanted "Inner peace" repetitively for good measure. It didn't work.

"Quiet!" I shouted. It was the first time in this life that I ever had to use this voice. The _look-at-me-now-or-_so _-help-me-I-will-take-away-your-playtime-privileges_ voice. It always worked without fail, and this time was no exception. After my sudden outburst, everyone froze, everything stopped, and there was only silence. Sweet blessed silence.

I took in the scene before me. Broken table, Lambo crying with a grenade in his hand, surrounded by knives (where did they even come from, what the hell); Hayato with his hands full of dynamite, about to kick Takeshi in the face; Takeshi with a smile frozen on his face, both hands gripping the baseball bat, about to bat away the dynamites in Hayato's hands; and finally Reborn, sitting at the table, ignoring Lambo and calmly eating Lambo's food.

I wonder who started this mess.

I turned to Lambo first. "It is impolite to have weapons out at the dining table. Please don't do it again." I paused as I realised it wasn't getting through to him and I considered his age. Most children that age were motivated through the carrot and stick approach, though I loathed to use it. "I'll give you that candy again if you don't."

And that was the key. Lambo's eyes lit up and he obediently put his grenades back into his hair. I let a smile show on my face briefly before I turned to look at Hayato.

"Hayato," I began. He flinched and began to take on the demeanour of a kicked puppy, and I almost went easy on him. Almost. "You are almost fourteen years old. Please don't be so quick to anger." I grimaced a little as I considered what I was going to say next. "You need to be more patient if you truly wish to become a right-hand man." Hayato looked like he had been shot and I felt a weight settle in my chest. It was not a pleasant feeling. Still, I needed to get my point across.

"Takeshi." The smile slid off of his face at my serious expression. "Please don't add fuel to the fire. I was actually relying on you to be the mediator. I'm sorry I didn't inform you of that." Takeshi looked like he was about to say something but the words got stuck in his throat. I waited a few seconds for him to speak but when he didn't, I moved on.

Reborn was sitting down at Lambo's seat, still eating peacefully. Despite the innocent act, I was able to see the marks of a fight around him. Specifically the broken table and the bullet holes _everywhere_.

Now tell me, who was the only one who used guns in this household?

"Reborn." I didn't speak until his attention was on me. I held his gaze for a few moments before I continued.

"I expected better from you."

A strange emotion flitted through his eyes but I couldn't identify it as he immediately went back to eating Lambo's food. I sighed in disappointment and frustration. My words didn't get through to him, as per usual. I looked around to find a place where I could put down the plates of food I had been holding. Thankfully, the chairs were still intact so I set the plates down on them. The room was in complete silence as I moved about. Frankly, it was kind of unnerving but I had nothing else to say, so I couldn't fill the silence with chatter. It turned out that I didn't have to, because a gasp shattered the silence soon enough.

I whirled around to see my mother at the foot of the stair, a hand over her opened mouth and eyes widened in shock. I winced. Did she _really_ like that table? Or was it the mess? I quickly opened my mouth to promise her that I'll clean up the mess, she could go to her dinner, _you don't need to be worried, mum,_ but I was cut off by a delighted squeal.

"Tsu-kun is going to be a great wife, and an even better mother! Ah! The man that will marry my Tsu-kun will be _so_ lucky!" I blanched. I could feel my manly pride slipping away like a torrential waterfall through my fingers.

"But mum, I don't–"

"Mama can't wait for Tsu-kun's little children!"

"Mum, males can't get–"

"Oh… but no man is good enough for my Tsu-chan…"

"Ts-Tsu-chan? Mum, I think–"

"Ah! Perhaps that well-mannered white haired boy that keeps stopping by!"

"Wait, he _talks_ to you?"

"Don't worry, Tsu-chan! Mama will invite him over for tea next time!" And then she was gone. I stared at the door in something akin to shock.

"…but I'm not interested in romantic relationships…"

I know mother really wanted a girl – so much that she dressed me up as a girl for the first two years of my life – but this is really taking things too far. Seriously.

My sanity is going to leave me very, very soon. I can feel it slipping away.

"Tsuna… as a wife?"

Whoops there it goes.

I let myself collapse to the floor face down, making dying animal noises while I was at it.

* * *

><p>"Here, Lambo-kun. You can have my bed for the moment." I smiled at him as I tucked him into bed, mentally taking note to buy him pyjamas. That cow-print skin suit <em>can't<em> be comfortable.

"Thank you, Tsuna-nii!" Lambo chirped. I froze for a second.

_Tsuna… nii? _

When I opened my mouth to question Lambo, he was already asleep. I stared at him for a while, contemplating whether or not I should wake him up, but ultimately decided against it. Today had been a tiring day and Lambo really needed his sleep.

"Baka-Tsuna." I turned to look at Reborn questioningly. "You need to train tomorrow," he told me. Judging from the steely glint in his eyes, the training was compulsory. I agreed to it without much thought. It was probably Reborn's standard training for me: running laps and dodging bullets.

Oh how wrong I was.

* * *

><p>"Why."<p>

Hibari-senpai was standing in front of me, tonfas at the ready, with a bored look on his face. I wonder how Reborn convinced him to spend time with us on a weekend. Sure he must have much better things to do, right? _Right?_

Hayato and Takeshi were in the spectator area, cheering me on enthusiastically. Man, they had so much faith in me. Faith I didn't deserve.

"You can do it, Tsuna!"

"Kick his ass, tenth!"

I felt like crying.

Lambo was also at the side, sitting next to Takeshi. He was licking a rather sizeable lollipop I purchased for him, and doing some light Japanese worksheets I made for him. He was surprisingly obedient and compliant when I asked him to do it for me. Somehow, I expected more defiance from him.

Well, it looks like I'll be buying a lot more candy in the near future. But back to the situation at hand. The horrid, horrid, situation at hand.

Reborn was standing in between Hibari-san and me. In some ways, he was kind of like my last line of defence. Of course, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

"Let's test your capabilities, Baka-Tsuna," were Reborn's parting words as he leaps backwards to the spectator area in one jump. What was he, a ninja?

Without wasting a second, Hibari-senpai surged forth with extreme killer intent. I let out a high-pitched squeak and dodged out of the way of his tonfas, before breaking into a sprint. I wasn't really running with any direction in mind, other than _away from the terrifying predator_.

"Stop running, little herbivore."

"And let you kill me?" A shriek as I almost died via tonfa. "How 'bout _no_?"

This little game of cat and mouse continued for a few minutes, and I was making good way on increasing the space between Hibari-senpai and me when Lambo ran out onto the battlefield.

"Tsuna-san, Tsuna-san! Lam- I'm done with the worksheet!"

My heart leaped into my throat when I realised that he was right in front of Hibari-san's line of attack.

There was no time to think.

(_A glint of silver and black. My brother's terrified eyes stared into mine. _

_There was no time to think._)

There was an ominous crack as Hibari-senpai's tonfa hit my upper arm, but I didn't flinch. My free hand shot out to punch Hibari-senpai's stomach, making him fly a few metres away. My mind was strangely sharp, and I was unnaturally calm. It was similar to how I felt last night during the horrid dinner situation, but also different. There was something _more_ to this that I've never felt before.

I turned to pick Lambo up with both hands and walked to the spectator area, placing him down in the middle of Takeshi and Reborn. From my peripheral vision, I was aware of Takeshi's wide eyed shock, Hayato's look of shock and disbelief, and above all, the speculative glint in Reborn's eyes, but I shoved it to the back of my mind. It wasn't important now.

"Sorry Lambo-kun, I can't check your work now. Maybe later?" I asked Lambo. He nodded distractedly, too busy staring at my forehead in captivation. I vaguely wondered why, but I didn't linger on it. There were bigger threats to face.

When I turned around, Hibari-senpai had already recovered from my punch and was walking towards me, grey eyes flashing dangerously. If I had been in my right mind, I would've definitely ran for the hills in that exact moment.

Too bad I wasn't.

My eyes narrowed in concentration as Hibari-senpai leapt forward with a snarl.

* * *

><p>"Tch." Hibari-senpai stood victoriously over my prone form. Reborn hops down from the spectator area and gave me a disapproving look.<p>

"You could've fought more," he told me. Hibari-senpai's eyes took on that dangerous look again but, thankfully, I cut in before I sustained any severe damage.

"I can't afford to send myself to the hospital, Reborn. I'm not so irresponsible as to leave my mum and Lambo-kun alone." I frowned at the not-baby, hoping he could see my point. I didn't really know if he actually did, though, because at that moment, panic suddenly shot through me and my intuition _screamed_ at me to get out of the way.

My hands burst into vibrant orange flames and I used them to thrust me off the ground and into an upright standing position. My exhaustion was pushed to the back of my mind as my eyes immediately sought out the threat.

My eyes landed on, not Hibari-senpai, not Reborn, but Byakuran.

Byakuran shot a bullet at my head.

_I freakin' _knew_ he was bad news!_

Orange and purple clashed with one another, both refusing to give in. Finally, Byakuran smirked. "You continue to amuse me, Tsunayoshi-kun. I expect more interesting things from you." He then gave a wave and turned to walk away, not even bothering to protect his back.

On impulse, I glanced down at the bullet and froze. This bullet… I recognised this bullet. Red, with a small flame design on the body, a _dying will _flame design on the body… Where did he get this bullet?

My eyes flickered to Reborn and I jerked in surprise when I saw that he gun was out and aimed at Byakuran's retreating back.

_He… _

Slowly, I became more aware of my surroundings and the people around me. Hayato and Takeshi were on either sides of me, positioned slightly in front, hands on their weapons and ready for a fight. To my eternal surprise, Hibari-senpai had also assumed a defensive position in front of me.

A tug on my pants leg alerted me to the whereabouts of Lambo. I glanced down to see him rubbing his eyes with his left hand and yawning. In his right hand was a pink coloured grenade. I blinked and the flames coating my fists extinguished. Immediately, all the accumulated pain and exhaustion hit me with all the force of a speeding freight truck and my world spun. I tilted forward but thankfully, Hayato managed to catch me in time and support my weight before I broke a bone or something.

"Don't worry tenth, I've got you," Hayato consoled me. I made a sound of thanks, not trusting myself to not puke all over Hayato's shoes if I opened my mouth.

"You can relax now, Tsuna. Isn't that right, Reborn?" Takeshi sounded kind of harsh, like he wasn't going to accept no for an answer. I wanted to laugh at him. One doesn't simply use that sort of tone with Reborn. 'Cuz Reborn will, Reborn'll…

I closed my eyes to ward off the pain. It was so bad that I could hardly think of anything else.

Still, there was one thought that was running through my mind, one thought that the pain couldn't overwhelm.

_How the hell did Byakuran get a dying will bullet?!_

* * *

><p><strong>author's notes<br>**

"Insanity is hereditary: You can get it from your children." – Sam Levinson

I was looking at heights in the KHR universe.

Tsuna is really short. 157cm. Only 0.5cm taller than Haru.

So it's like 1:11am in the morning and I just finished typing this in one whole sitting. So yeah, there's probably some mistakes. Please let me know if you spot any.

School tomorrow. Or technically today. Ughhh.

I seriously have run out of ideas. I have a general story line, but that's just a skeleton. So the next one will come whenever the inspiration hit me. (The inspiration for _this_ hit me when I was in Educational Psychology, while the lecturer was talking about the moral development of a child. Ahahaha. sighs)

**Review time**

**Eovin** I'll probably work on an omake with all the povs of people on the day of the Bunny Incident. Ah, as for Nana, I'm undecided with where to take her in this story. (But my personal headcanon is that she just enjoys messing around with people). I don't want to imagine what happens when Byakuran and Mukuro team up on Tsuna. Tsuna will not survive. (I bet Tsuna wishes he could learn misdirection. Sorry bunny-boy, not gonna happen.) Also, thank you for the cookie! (Places it on a pedestal and treasures it forever.)

**NoName** I'm glad to hear that! (bows deeply) I live to please.

**Hikari Kaiya** I'm happy I made you laugh! That's the point of this whole story! (winks)

**angelxdevil4** Thank you! And I will try. No promises.

**uub** I believe that Tsuna has unlimited potential. The only reason he's so useless in the main story is because no one bothered with him, and he believed himself to be nothing. Therefore he fails at everything. When Reborn comes along, it's like someone who actually cares and is able to mold Tsuna into someone stronger, hence the sudden rapid growth. But eh, that's just my headcanon.

**Ri-chan** I'm glad!

**sheriko** Ah, but I don't think Byakuran would bother sticking to some deal. Thanks for your food for thought! It certainly gave me much to think about. (smiles)

**Nyasararu** Maybe an omake. With real cat ears. And as for the voice in the brackets... well... (smirks)

**Akayuki Sawada** (pleased face) I love making people laugh.

**Marmora F. An Nora** He sure did~

**shadowfan999** Thank you!

**PCheshire** Yeah he is, isn't he? No one can measure up to the actual one. (sad face)

**Allykrau** It does make sense, doesn't it? Still gives me a headache everything I think of it, though. Thank you for your kind words!

#Edit 26/5/14: A line break and moment to moments.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

><p><strong>Well <strong>_**clearly**_** this isn't going to be one of my better days**

* * *

><p>Hayato and Takeshi helped patch me up. Or at least, they tried. In the end, I just took over and bandaged myself. If I were to leave it up to them, it would've taken more than three hours, not to mention that I would definitely have to redo the bandages. Yeah, it was for the best that I took over.<p>

After skilfully mummifying my wounds in just under half an hour, I waited for Reborn's verdict on my performance today. He stared at my neatly done bandages with unreadable black eyes in silence, making Hayato, Takeshi and I fidget nervously.

"Where did you learn how to bandage wounds so efficiently, Baka-Tsuna?" Reborn finally broke the silence with his question. I stared at him blankly. Is he seriously asking me this?

"You do realize that I was _extremely_ clumsy when I was younger? Clumsiness leads to accidents which leads to wounds." I conveniently left out the part that I didn't want to deal with the questions that would come if I kept going to the hospital to treat burn wounds from the orange fire.

The door to my room suddenly opened and an unfamiliar man stumbled in. He was a stranger with a white coat, black dress shirt, and the tackiest tie I have even seen. And let me tell you, having been a kindergarten teacher, I've seen _many_ ties.

His hair looked pretty familiar though.

"Sh-Shamal?! What are you doing here?" Hayato gasped. I jerked my head to face him and blinked. My eyes flickered between the two for a few seconds.

Oh. So that's why his hair's like that.

"Hayato, do you idolize this person?" I asked bluntly. I watched Hayato's face turned red as he began to splutter in a mix of Italian and Japanese. Takeshi began to laugh.

"You copied his hair style, Hayato! That's so nice!" he commented.

"Shut up! I didn't give you any permission to use my first name!"

And then they started squabbling again. Great, this noise is going to wake Lambo up from his nap. I raised my right hand to cover my face, trying to ward off the coming headache.

Before I knew what I was doing, my left hand shot out and curled around something. Something thin, kind of soft, and burning hot.

Immediately, I snatched my hand away and hissed. I can't believe I just defused a dynamite with my bare hands. Hands that were still recovering from burns. I could feel the headache settling into my skull and flooding my senses. I was wondering when it would finally come. It _always_ came after I fully utilised the orange flames, after all.

"Tenth! Tenth!" I realised someone was shaking my shoulder. I tried to turn to face them but the headache was too strong.

"What is it, Hayato?" I asked in a muffled voice. Argh, can't think. Shit, has the pain always been this bad before?

There was something cool on my forehead and I leaned into it unconsciously.

"Tsuna's burning up!" Takeshi gasped. I winced at the loud tone he decided to use right next to my ear. Geez, Takeshi, have a little more consideration for others will you?

The part of me not crying in agony over the horrid headache was aware that this 'Shamal' was moving closer to me. I didn't sense any hostile intent from him, so I left him be. I could feel someone moving me around so I deduced that this guy was checking my condition. Was he a doctor? Did Hayato call him here, or did Reborn? Probably Reborn, considering that Hayato was pretty surprised to see him. He couldn't have gotten in by himself, 'cuz Reborn would've killed him or something.

"This is strange," Shamal mused. "Normally, flames would increase with the maturity of a person's body and mind. Somehow, this boy's flame is unbalanced, and his output largely exceeds what his body can handle." I internally groaned. No doubt, this was because of that reincarnation mess up that landed me in this life.

_(Hahaha! Listen to that, you're an abnormal. An outlier. Someone who shouldn't be counted. Someone who shouldn't _exist_.) _

(I know.)

"You can treat him, right?" Hayato asked. Shamal laughed.

"Oh, you know I don't treat men, Hayato."

_Then what the hell are you here for?_

I sigh. Looks like I'll have to try to control my flame output on my own. I've been doing fine alone for the past thirteen years or so. Why would my life now be any different?

(Though, I had hoped things would change once I started having friends.)

(Looks like it was just a false hope, huh?)

I probably should have waited until I was healthier before I tried anything but hey, I wasn't really in my right mind. And besides, nothing went wrong!

With a groggy, half-awake mind, I lifted up my right arm and tried to light a flame. Immediately, there was a large burst of orange, and I was careful to keep it from touching my palm. Slowly, I tried to reduce the size of the flame. It was hard and needed quite a fair bit of effort but I managed to do it.

A small, vibrant orange flame, the size of a thumb, flickered intensely above the palm of my hand. Satisfied, I let it go out and grimaced. Well, that certainly did _nothing_ to help my headache.

_Seriously, what was I even expecting?_

I was vaguely aware that everyone was staring at me in silence and varying emotions but I was too tired to care. I let my right arm fall back down with another sigh. I've been sighing a lot lately, now that I think of it. Just then, I heard an irritating buzzing sound next to my ear.

(_"Hey, hey, can you believe that there's someone who can control mosquitoes?" my brother asked excitedly, tearing his eyes away from the new manga chapter. I grimaced at him, spraying insecticide in the air and slapped an anti-mosquito patch onto him. _

"_He's gonna have a hard time with me, that's for sure."_)

Too tired to even bother with killing the mosquito, I made to shift away when a bullet grazed past my cheek. Thankfully, it didn't harm me and no blood was spilled. Still, I froze in fear and shock, and looked at Reborn with wide eyes, my exhaustion almost gone.

_What did I do?!_

He wasn't looking at me, though, but at Shamal.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't harm my student, Dr. Shamal," he told the doctor in his squeaky voice. Somehow, it sounded a _lot_ scarier than usual.

Squeaky voices are meant to be cute, not scary!

I heard Shamal laugh sheepishly. "Looks like I owe you now. Well, can't do anything about it I guess." He started to move towards me when Takeshi swiftly stepped in between us.

"Sorry," he laughed strangely, "but I don't quite trust you just yet." I tried not to gape at him and quickly turned to look at Hayato. Surely he'd call Takeshi off from harming his idol, right?

Wrong. In fact, Hayato was already readying his dynamites whilst glaring at Shamal.

Seriously, just one time, _one time_! And they're already so over-protective. It wasn't even a near death experience, just some twat firing a gun at my head. The bullet wouldn't have killed me even if it _did_ hit me!

I let out yet another sigh. "It's okay. I doubt Reborn would let him hurt me," I told them. Or at least, tried to. It came out muffled and almost unintelligible but I guess they understood because they backed off a little and let Shamal through. He was complaining about some things but I kind of tuned out after the third time he commented about my lack of female bits.

Ugh, what a pervert. If I catch him doing anything untoward to anyone, I swear to everything good and holy…

I almost flinched away from the buzzing sound close to my ear, and tried to keep a frown from my face. God, I _hated_ mosquitoes.

In less than a second, Shamal was done with his treatment and I breathed a sigh of relief. I could feel my headache receding bit by bit, until it was merely a buzz at the back of my head. I gave him a small smile and thanked him. I know how it feels like to have Reborn force you to do something you don't want to do.

The door to my room opened and my mother peeked in. I thought she'd be out the whole day. Was it that late already?

Seeing her, Shamal immediately went over and started flirting with her. My mother stiffened up slightly and, though she did her best to not show it, I could see that she was pretty uncomfortable. A strange, cold sort of anger built up in me and before I knew it, I was standing behind Dr. Shamal, hugging him like a little groggy kid who didn't know any better.

My left hand was on his throat, nails digging slightly into his skin.

"I really thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come heal me, Dr. Shamal," I began in a softly dangerous voice, "Don't let us keep you here any longer. Surely you must be a busy man." I tightened my grip around his throat for a second and Shamal stuttered out an affirmative to my question. I know that he would be able to kill me in a split second, but I didn't care. Anyone who was a threat to my mother's happiness must leave. _Immediately._

I tilted my head to the right in order to see my mother's face. Our eyes met and my mother gave a bright but sharp smile. I moved back from Dr. Shamal to stand beside him.

"Dr. Shamal, is it? Please take _good care_ of my _precious_ Tsu-kun. I wouldn't know _what_ I'd do if something were to happen to him," she giggled. There was a moment of silence as she stared into Shamal's eyes to make sure the message was sent across. Then, she turned her gaze to me and patted my head.

"Mama's going to cook dinner now!" she informed. I automatically started shuffling out of the door to help her but she clamped her hands down onto my shoulders with surprised force and steered me back to lying on the bed. Then, she turned to Reborn and my friends.

"Tsu-kun always tries to help me, even when he shouldn't. Reborn-kun, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto-kun… You will help my Tsu-kun get enough rest, _right_?"

The three of them could only nod. My mother happily clapped her hands together and gave a large, bright smile. I could almost see sparkles and flowers around her face.

"Thank you!" She skipped out of the room, leaving us in silence. I grumbled as I made myself comfortable on my bed. Who knows what mother would do if I was caught out of it. I know better than to defy her requests.

I vaguely remembered not listening to her once. _Once_.

"Tsuna… When did your mum suddenly become so scary?" Takeshi asked me once he could speak again. I blinked at him, genuinely confused.

"She's not scary. And she's always been like that?" I really don't know what he's talking about. And I really don't know why everyone suddenly shuddered at my words.

* * *

><p><strong>It's weird how people say "follow your dreams" instead of "follow your ambitions"<strong>

* * *

><p>Reborn refused to let me take the futon, even if I wasn't sick. I wondered why he was suddenly so nice to me.<p>

Well, I refused to let Lambo take the futon either, so we argued a bit and finally settled with a compromised in which Lambo and I shared a bed. Reborn didn't look too happy about it but he preferred this arrangement over Lambo sleeping with him.

Well, sleep wasn't really bad for Lambo. Lambo was one of those children that were able to slip into a peaceful state of unconsciousness within seconds. I, on the other hand…

Well, have you ever heard of 'fever dreams'? While I couldn't really remember all of them upon waking, I really do hate them due to their vividness and the emotions that they leave you with, even after waking…

The dream started out weirdly. A road lines with cherry blossom trees in full bloom; pink petals fluttered about, falling to the indigo ground and covering it. Purple clouds floated through a never-ending orange sky and, it was under that sky, that I flickered into existence.

Like any other dream, I had no control over my body. I was running through the cherry blossoms with a slice of toast in my mouth. There was no one on the road for miles. I was totally, utterly alone, and without a clue as to where I was going.

And suddenly, I found myself standing in a purely white hospital room. There was someone standing in front of me and I reached out to touch me. Before my hand could make contact with his back, however, he turned around and…

I saw my brother.

My breath caught in my throat and I felt a familiar burning sensation in my eyes. How long had it been since I last saw his face?

"_Why did you leave?"_ he asked.

"I-I didn't want to!"

"_I thought you loved us. I thought you loved _me."

"I _do_ love you!" I choked out as tears started to cloud my vision. I buried my face in my hands as I cried, but I never stopped the streams of 'I love you's and 'I miss you's that came out of my mouth.

A hand patted my hand and my sobs died down.

"I really do love you," I whispered.

"_I love you too…_ little herbivore." I jerked in surprised and looked up into a pair of grey eyes. Grey eyes that belonged to Hibari-senpai.

I shrieked.

* * *

><p>My eyes snapped open and I bolted up into a sitting position, trying to calm my racing heart. I couldn't quite remember my dream but I had the lingering impression that it was something truly horrifying.<p>

There was a tap on the window beside my bed and I flinched, letting out a strangled "Hiee!"

"Little herbivore. Open the window," came a muffled voice. My blood ran cold. _Please_ tell me that I was still in a nightmare.

"I know you can hear me. Open the window or I'll bite you to death."

"Hieee!" Well, better safe than sorry. I quickly, but gently, shifted Lambo to the other side of the bed, putting myself between the window and him. Then, I proceeded to open the window and warily squinted out into the darkness. Man, my night vision was _horrible_. Ah well, I don't need to _see_ Hibari-senpai in order to be afraid of him anyway.

"Who was the white haired herbivore from earlier?" he demanded. I was quiet for a while, desperately trying to force my half-dead brain to process his question and come up with a suitable response.

"You mean Byakuran-san?" _That_ white haired crazy? Man, if he was a herbivore, I was a bloody _plant_.

Hibari-senpai grunted and I took that as an affirmative.

"A-ah, Byakuran-san is someone I met a while ago… And he won't leave me alone." I felt faint killer intent and panicked. "B-but he hasn't _actually_ harmed anyone!" Yet.

"Are you defending him?" Hibari-senpai seemed pissed.

"N-no! I just don't –" _want you to get hurt. _I cut myself off before I could injure his Manly Pride by telling the truth. A boy's ego is a fragile thing, after all. I settled with telling a half-lie.

"My mum seems to like him, so… yeah." I let him come to his own conclusions.

I fidgeted in the uncomfortable silence that followed, waiting for a verdict, until a thought struck me.

"Did… you seriously have to visit me in the middle of the night? Why couldn't you wait until tomorrow morning? Don't you _like_ your sleep?"

There was the sound of something shifting and I managed to lean back just in time to avoid a tonfa swiping my face off.

"Shut up, little herbivore," Hibari-senpai growled out, and then he was gone. I hurriedly went to shut the window in case he decided to come back, or any (white haired) intruders wanted to try their luck.

From beside me, Lambo shifted a little and I calmed him down, praying that we would not wake up. I breathed a sigh of relief when he settled back down, leaving me to my thoughts.

Could… could it be that Hibari-senpai was concerned about me?

…

Nah, not possible.

* * *

><p><strong>Have you ever met someone whose smile looks like it could make flowers grow?<strong>

* * *

><p>"Lambo-kun? Lambo-kun!" When I woke up, Lambo was gone. Understandably, I panicked. Reborn wasn't even there to help me! Well, it wasn't like he would help me even if he <em>were<em> here… but it's the principle of the matter.

I tried my best to prevent myself from panicking too badly. I took a deep breath and tried to think of places Lambo might be. Perhaps the candy store; I once took him there to choose candy. Or the park! He seemed to like the playground there, even if he didn't really like playing with the other children.

But what if he got lost? Or kidnapped? He's part of the Bovino Family, wasn't he? What if someone killed him? Oh _god_.

Thankfully, someone called out my name before I decided to whip out my flames and fly about in search of Lambo.

"Tsu-na-yo-shi-kun~" that someone sang, "I believe that I have something here that you're looking for!" I spun around, ready to tell him where he could shove that thing, when I froze and my eyes landed on a brown afro.

_Lambo!_

I ran towards him and took him from the person who was carrying him. The person seemed really taken aback, and more of dropped Lambo into my grasp than handed him over but I didn't quite care. Lambo was okay!

"Oh my god, Lambo-kun, what happened? Where have you been? I've been worried sick!" I fussed. Lambo hopped out of my arms and onto a nearby wall so that he was eye level with me. He struck a pose, his fist in the air, and laughed.

"The great Lambo-san was out exploring!"

"…" It took some time for me to prevent myself from getting angry. Lambo didn't know any better. Well, that didn't mean he could continue that way. "Next time you want to leave the house, please tell me. If I'm not around, tell Hayato, Takeshi or my mum. Please." I looked into his eyes, trying to convey how serious I was. Lambo seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and solemnly. I smiled at him.

I guess… Some thanks are in order.

I turned to look at Byakuran, who seemed slightly weirded out. I ignored it and walked up to him. "Thank you for bringing Lambo back, Byakuran-san." I gave him a genuine smile, too happy to muster up the usual feelings of annoyance I get whenever I look at him. He gave me a close-eyed smile in return and opened his mouth, no doubt about to say something annoying. I didn't quite want to ruin my good mood yet, I so decided to shut him up by doing something out of character.

I threw my arms around him and squeezed tightly.

I could tell he wasn't expecting that by the sharp intake of breath I heard. I stayed like that for a second longer before I drew myself away from the hug to face the person who had been carrying Lambo. I tilted my head to the side, taking in his auburn hair, his green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses, and the two centimetre height difference between us.

_Yes! I finally found a guy who's shorter than me!_

I gave him a brilliant smile and stuck out my hand. "Hello! My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. It's nice to meet you!"

"Y-yeah. I'm Irie Shouichi. Nice to meet you too." He took my hand and shook it. The expression on his face seemed a little weird, though, as if he _knew_ me or something. Huh. I just hope he wasn't another weirdo like Byakuran.

There was a bout of awkward silence after our introduction and I decided to turn back to look at Byakuran. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Byakuran was just standing there, hands slightly outstretched, mouth open, and staring into blank space, a look of utter confusion on his face. I wanted to laugh.

"So…" Irie began. I turned back to look at him, waiting for him to speak. "Wh-what's your number?" he blurted out, and then his face turned red. I blinked, staring at him blankly. Why the hell would he want my number? I mentally weighed the pros and cons in my head before deciding to prod at my intuition for an answer. I didn't really receive a solid answer, unless you counted a massive headache as one, but I didn't really get a bad feeling so why not?

I took out my phone and we traded numbers and email addresses. He seemed quite happy when we were done for some reason. We talked a while more about some mundane things, like which school we went to and such, while we spontaneously kept an eye on both Byakuran and Lambo. Turns out, he wasn't that bad of a guy! He went to Yumei Private Middle School, which was located somewhere around here, and wanted to be a musician when he grew up. Wasn't that cool? I cheerfully encouraged him to follow him dreams and he blushed bright red again. It was probably due to the fact that not many people supported his dreams or something. Poor boy.

"Ah! I need to go!" Irie suddenly yelped after glancing at his watch. I waved goodbye as I watched him drag Byakuran away. He was pretty cute child, I guess. I mean, there are worse people out there who I could've given my contact details to. I probably wouldn't regret my decision.

I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: <strong>

I wonder, Tsuna. Well, I guess that this is basically a filler chapter or something. I can't wait to start on the Kokuyo arc dammit. I also messed up on the "show not tell" thing ahhhhhhhh.

I've been reading way too many Spiders Georg jokes. (He is an outliner adn should not have been counted.)

The dream is a symbolism thing. Well, until the Hibari bit that is. Or maybe it includes it. Psychoanalyse it however you want.

I keep having the urge to throw Tsuna's past life younger brother into the story somewhere as a reincarnation or something, but it'll just spoil everything. Bleh. (Also was Tsuna a girl or boy in his past life? How did he look like? Who knows. No one. No one will ever know. Not even me.)

I basically squeezed the last bit out because I wanted to get it posted up today, so this probably isn't up to the usual standard. Also, my inspiration usually comes when I have things do to. Like apply for a scholarship and study for three bloody tests that are coming up next week.

I really like Nagi. I wonder…

Ahhhh Bianchi, please show up soon I need you before I can start on Haruuuuu! (Also, why did I write Chapter 5 so long? It gives me loads of pressure to make the other chapters as long argh)

**Review**

I decided to reply to reviews through PMs, and only write anonymous reviews down here.

**Ri-chan** Byakuran is deciding to be an annoying idiot with strange motivations. No one knows what in the world he is up to.

**h0licist/2lazy2login** Thank you for dropping a comment and I'm glad that you're happy! I'm probably not going to introduce Fuuta anytime soon. I'll see what I can do about I-Pin, though.

**Other things**

Personally I understand Chinese (the Chinese in KHR I-Pin says makes me _really_ confused though. Like _what_?) but I doubt I'm gonna make Tsuna understand it. He can make out tone and body language just fine, though, so I don't think communication will be _too much_ of an issue. Probably. Maybe. Judging on how sadistic I feel atm.

**Quotes**

it's weird how people say "follow your dreams" instead of "follow your ambitions" because once i had a dream where i worked for a place that tried to genetically engineer ducks to speak english except the ducks only criticized people's fashion sense – _neptunain on tumblr_

have you ever met someone who's smile looks like it could make flowers grow – _ayebastille on tumblr_

**#Edit: **I smoothed over a couple of things and got rid of _many_ mistakes. brb, dying inside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: **#TW: drowning

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

><p><strong>Girls who can run in heels should be feared<strong>

* * *

><p>Since mother and I didn't quite see the point in lavishly, and only spent what we needed, so we pretty much have a lot of spare cash. Well, the money was now being used for house repairs, but thirteen, nearly fourteen, years of money is still quite a lot.<p>

Which was probably why mother allowed me to get a new hand phone and phone line.

It wasn't too bad. I could count the amount of phone numbers in my phone on one hand, so the transferal wouldn't be _that_ big of a pain.

It wasn't Irie's fault either (at least it _better not _have been), I was sure he had pretty pushy friends.

I left my phone at home. No doubt, it was still buzzing continuously from the many, _many_ messages sent to it.

You probably know what happened by now.

Well, at least I'm not going to buy the phone alone. Hayato was coming with me! Unfortunately, Takeshi was unable to make it due to baseball practice.

"Well, tenth, there's the newest model of…" I let Hayato's technobabble run by me, listening with only half a ear. I'd probably let him choose the phone I'll buy. Well, provided that it was within the budget I set aside.

I heard the sound of someone riding a bicycle behind us so I moved to the side, snagging Hayato's hand to pull him along with me. He spluttered a little and turned awfully red, but I paid him no attention.

_What was this bad feeling…?_

A lady on a bicycle stopped beside us and removed her biking helmet and goggles. I took in her long, straight pink hair, green eyes, and slightly familiar face structure. She was really beautiful, no doubt, but obviously not Japanese.

Behind me, Hayato starts convulsing and falls to the floor.

Immediately, I whirl around and crouch down beside him, panicking. Yeah, sure, I took a first aid course before, but that was like a million years ago and I could hardly remember anything from it now! I dug around for my phone but soon remembered I didn't have one on me. Holy shit, what do I do now?

In the back of my mind, I was aware that the lady with the pink hair was speaking to me, but I didn't bother listening to her; Hayato was my main priority and, until I was sure he was going to live, I probably wasn't going to care about anything else.

_Something's coming! _

My hand darted out to smack a metallic object out of the air. It had been thrown towards us at an alarming velocity by the person behind me. I turned around and eyed the lady warily, positioning myself protectively between Hayato and her.

"I don't know who you are," I told her, eyes narrowed, "but you're clearly a danger to Hayato. Please leave."

She stared at me for a while, seeming to think over my statement. As the seconds ticked by, I became more and more high strung. My intuition kept whispering to me that she was dangerous, out of my league, _she'll kill you in an instant_, but I refused to budge and leave Hayato alone. Just as I was about to snap and demand her to leave, she nodded at me and left, a strange and mysterious smile on her lips. When she was gone, my eyes flickered to the metallic object I had swatted away – a can of soda – to see that the drink was leaking out onto the pavement.

Purple fumes wafted out of the can, causing birds to fall out of the sky, and the 'soda' was eating away at the concrete pavement. I paled.

_What in the world?!_

* * *

><p>Thanks to my training with Reborn, I wasn't even out of breath when I finally reached the house with Hayato unconscious on my back. I gently placed him onto the couch in the living room and briskly walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water and some painkillers. When I came back, he was already sitting upright and clutching his head.<p>

"So… do you, by any chance, know that lady?" I asked as I passed him the glass of water.

"She's… she's my sister."

My eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

Hayato didn't answer me at first, downing two tablets of painkillers and the entire glass of water. I fidgeted as I waited for his answer.

After a minute of silence, he finally started the tale of his relationship with his sister. He told me about living in a castle, about the piano recitals and the poison cookies, about the terrible stomachaches and being forced to perform. It almost sounded like something out of a horror movie, and I grew more and more horrified with each word.

"That… sounds… really painful…"

"Yes. I _hate_ her."

I involuntarily gave a sharp gasp at his words.

_I can't imagine how it'd be to hate my brother, or for him to hate me. _

…

_It must be really lonely. _

The doorbell rang and I went to receive the guest, leaving Hayato alone with his thoughts.

Without much thought, I opened the door. Big mistake.

The pink haired lady from before was waiting on the other side, holding a box of pizza in her arms. "Thank you for waiting," she told me, an intimidating smile on her face. She put on a gas mask and started to open the ominous box of pizza in her arms. Damn, if it was anything like the can of not-soda earlier, I couldn't let it open, or the poisonous gases will diffuse thorough out the house.

I tensed up, waiting for the right moment to kick it out of the way. Turns out, I didn't really need to. Before the purple fumes could escape from the box, there was the sound of a gun being shot, and the pizza box flew out into the yard where it killed many birds and flowers.

"Ciaossu, Bianchi," Reborn greeted the pink haired lady. Ah, so that was her name.

Upon seeing Reborn, Bianchi started tearing up. I blinked, unsure of whether she was actually crying, or she was putting on a show. "Reborn," she whispered, slowly getting louder, "I'm here to bring you back! Let's do another big job together, Reborn!"

"I told you Bianchi, I can't," Reborn put her down bluntly, almost coldly. Should he have more delicacy than that? "I have a job to raise Tsuna." Hey, hey, don't go making it _my_ fault! Well, it technically _is_ my fault…

"Poor Reborn," Bianchi wept theatrically, "Unless the tenth dies due to an accident or something, Reborn won't be free again." Wait, wait, wait. Where was this going?

I stared at her resignedly. Right, so she wanted to kill me in order to 'free' her lover from the 'chains of duty' he had as a hitman or something. Well, I could accept that. I've heard worse, after all.

I wonder if she was the one that made the extremely weird, but rather cool chestnut outfit Reborn had.

"Um, well, could you wait until later to kill me? Hayato's in the living room right now. I doubt you'd want to harm him," I said with a smile.

"Oh him," Bianchi looked away dismissively. "I don't really care about Hayato."

At her words I stiffened up.

_("Big brothers... you know why they're born first? To protect the little ones that come after them!" my brother suddenly shouted out loud, making me jump. After calming down my heart, I turned to him, waiting for an explanation. _

"_It's something Kurosaki Ichigo, from Bleach, said," he laughed. I gave him a smile. _

"_To protect, huh… Well, he's right, you know. It's my job to protect you!")_

_("Please, please, please…" my brother sobbed. I gave a weak laugh that quickly evolved into a choking cough. _

"_Don't cry," I whispered. My body was too weak for me to be any louder. "It's my job to protect you, after all." _

_My brother's tears fell onto my face. _

"_Promise me you won't leave. Promise me you won't _die_," he choked out. I didn't say anything. I _couldn't_ say anything. _

_I didn't like making false promises, after all.)_

My intuition was trying to tell me something, rapidly prodding at my consciousness, but I wasn't paying attention. My entire mind was flooded with anger as I stared at her with an emotion almost like hatred, but not quite there yet.

"How dare you, how _dare_ you treat your brother that way? Does he mean _nothing_ to you? You're his _family!_" I hissed out. Something flashed in Bianchi's eyes, and it was like she was viewing me in a whole new light.

"Tenth, is something wrong?" Hayato's voice from the living room. I could predict that he was about to walk to the doorway and quickly looked around for something to cover Bianchi's face. Wouldn't want him to get a stomachache just moments after he healed, yeah? And besides, since Hayato didn't suffer from his stomachache when he saw Bianchi with goggles, he should have no problems with Bianchi in a gas mask. Hopefully.

I heard footsteps coming closer to the doorway and I hurriedly snatched the gasmask from the floor. I moved towards Bianchi and jumped to put the gasmask onto her just as Hayato all but stumbled into the doorway.

He stopped short when he saw Bianchi. "Aneki…"

"Hayato." I looked at Bianchi, disapproving of her curt greeting, and I saw it. The look in her eyes.

She really did love Hayato. But why would she lie about that?

An awkward silence filled the air and I sighed. "Come in, Bianchi-san. Hayato, I'll leave you two to talk in the living room. If you'll excuse me…" I quickly, but gently, grabbed Reborn and ran up the stairs before the two siblings could say another word.

* * *

><p>"So… she's one of your lovers, huh?" I asked Reborn, awkwardly starting up a conversation. "By any chance, was she the one that made the chestnut costume form the other day?"<p>

"Yeap," Reborn replied, boasting a little, "Bianchi's my fourth lover. I'm pretty popular with woman you know."

"…" I had no idea what to say to that. I tried another route to fish for information. "So, is her specialty… poison?" I thought back to the scary purple fumes. Man, if that wasn't poison, I don't know what is.

"Yes. She's a freelance hitman known as the Poison Scorpion. Her special skill is feeding others her poison cooking."

"I see." Well, that was rather interesting information. I wonder if she could teach me a thing or two if I asked nicely.

The door to my room opened and Hayato stepped in, looking a bit subdued.

"I'm going back home now, tenth," he told me. I immediately got up and walked towards him, trying to gauge whether or not he was feeling fine enough to walk back home.

"Why don't I walk you back home?" I offered. Hayato rapidly waved his hands in front of his face and started babbling. I took that as a no. "Well, at least allow me to walk you to the gates," I insisted. I gave him the puppy eyes and he caved in, allowing me to walk him to the door. I waved goodbye at him until he was no longer in my sight before allowing my hand to drop as I sighed. It was time to face the pink haired problem in my house.

I walked upstairs to find Bianchi in my room with Reborn. Just as I predicted.

"Bianchi-san, am I right in saying that you're not going to be leaving without Reborn?" I asked her. She nodded and said something about eternal love and overcoming boundaries. I tilted my head to the side and contemplated several possible solutions, eventually settling on one that my intuition agreed with. And by agree, I meant 'didn't give me a bloody headache when I thought about it'.

"Why don't you stay here with us? We have a few spare rooms–" _speaking of which, did this house originally have _that_ many rooms? _"–that you can choose from. That way, you can be close to Reborn without having to disrupt his work. Also, you can spend more time with Hayato!" I beamed at her, hoping that she would accept my peace offering.

"Spend more time with Hayato… huh?" she muttered, contemplating my offer. Then, she smiled. "Alright then, Vongola Decimo–"

"Please don't call me that."

"–I'll stay, for love." She then turned to make lovey-dovey eyes at Reborn and ignored my existence. For some reason, I couldn't help but smile. She couldn't fool me. Well, she _was_ staying for love.

Love for her brother, Hayato.

_I guess, she isn't that bad of a person, after all. And besides, mother would probably enjoy having another female presence around the house. _

_I can't help but feel that I'm forgetting something, though…_

My phone buzzed and I walked over to the study table to pick it up and glanced at the screen.

'_1845 unread messages'_ mockingly stared back at me from a pastel coloured background of cute cartoon fishes and fluffy white marshmallows.

… _oh._

* * *

><p><strong>I'm very strong, I could fight off maybe 20 snails, 21 on a good day<strong>

* * *

><p>It was a bit strange, walking to school without Hayato and Takeshi with me. It made me wonder if I had been taking their company for granted.<p>

That wasn't a very pleasant thought.

Anyway, this morning, it was just Reborn and I walking to school in comfortable silence, when something out of the ordinary happened.

I saw a young lady, probably around my age, balancing herself on the wall dividing the house and the street. She was valiantly attempting to walk along the thin stretch of brick and cement without falling, and was moving towards us at a slow, but rather steady speed.

She stopped in front of Reborn who was, coincidentally, walking along that same stretch of brick without much problem.

"H-hello!" she greeted him cheerfully.

"Ciaossu," he greeted back. I took out my phone to play with while patiently waiting for their meet and greet session to finish.

I guess that was why I was totally taken aback by the slap the girl delivered to my face.

"You horrible person!" the girl yelled in my face, "Just what are you teaching him?!"

"What." I am so confused right now.

"Babies are angels with pure white hearts!" Her hands gripped me by the collar and pulled me forward. "Are you destroying that lovely pureness with your rotten heart?"

_What is she going on about, I don't- Oh. _

Oh.

I wrapped my hands around hers and gently detached them from my collar before holding them in front of our faces.

"You're exactly the person I've been looking for my whole life!"

"W-what?" Now it was her turn to look confused. A blush appeared on her face, and she looked a bit indignant. "Oh, I know what you're doing! Well, you won't trick Haru!"

I cut her off midsentence. "Children are pure hearted creatures that shouldn't be exposed to horrid lifestyles at such a young age! But Lambo-kun was born into it. I keep telling him to cut down the use of weapons, but he _never_ listens to me! What am I doing wrong?" I sobbed. She – Haru? – looked a bit taken aback.

"Well maybe you shouldn't have given him weapons in the first place!"

"I _do_ want to take his weapons away, but the weapons are the only reminders he has of his family! Not to mention, I want it to be his own choice. Children are their own people too, you know. I want him to practice self-restraint and internalize it…" I released her hand to wipe at my eyes. "I want to give him a better childhood but I don't know…"

"You…" Haru looked at a loss for words. "He isn't your child?"

I shook my head. "Reborn and Lambo-kun aren't my children, but now they're living with me. They're such a handful." I suddenly surged forth and grabbed her hands once again. "Do you have any advice that may help me with them?" Right, so perhaps I shouldn't have asked her for advice since she wasn't a professional. I couldn't help it, though. Her attitude was so similar to some of the colleagues I had in my past life that I forgot that I wasn't a twenty-one year old preschool teacher asking for advice about a difficult child, but a thirteen year old Mafia boss trainee.

"Baka-Tsuna," Reborn's voice startled me and I jumped back, letting Haru's hands fall. "You're going to be late." At his words, I quickly checked the time on my watch.

"Hieee!" Only five minutes to get to school! Reborn, why couldn't you have reminded me earlier?

"So sorry to cut our conversation short, but I really need to go now. It was nice meeting you, Haru-san!" I waved goodbye and sprinted off, leaving a very, _very_ confused girl behind.

"By the way, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn asked me while I was (literally) running for my life, "How did you get those flowers and sparkles to float around your face like that?"

"What do you mean, Reborn? Only my mum can do that weird sparkly thing."

"…"

* * *

><p>Takeshi had baseball practice again, and Hayato didn't come to school, so I was left to walk back home alone. I was a bit worried about Hayato, but he <em>did<em> tell me that he was fine… Perhaps I should visit him later.

I wasn't very far from Namimori Middle when I heard a familiar voice shout, "You shouldn't bully him like that!" Curious, I turned to look at the source and saw a group of delinquents crowding around something in front of the river. I shifted a little closer in order to see what was going on. Normally I wouldn't bother about them, but I could've sworn I heard…

One of the delinquents shifted and I saw Haru carrying a little boy. My eyes widened and I moved without thinking.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I yelled out. The delinquents turned to me as one whole entity, glaring at me and trying to look intimidating. I wasn't impressed. _Lambo_ had scarier glares than that.

Actually, they all looked really constipated.

They were seriously trying too hard.

"This kid," one of the larger ones, whom I secretly dubbed as meatloaf, gestured to the boy in Haru's arms with an ugly sneer, "ran into me and made me drop my shades into the river."

"Yeah!" another one chimed in. I named this one beansprout due to his tall but _incredibly _lanky physique. "So we thought we'd teach him a lesson. But then this bitch got in the way!"

I stared at the pack of delinquents, all of which were taller than me, and then at the teary six year old child in Haru's hands. I raised an eyebrow. "Picking on a little boy. What are you trying to achieve, really? You're not impressing anybody."

Meatloaf spat on the floor in front of me and pointed to the river. "I want him to get my sunglasses back."

I looked at the coursing river, hearing the loud roar of water as it violently swept past us, and then back at meatloaf. "Um, I'd hate to tell you this, but there's no chance you're getting back your sunglasses. Could we just buy you a new pair as compensation? Or are they _really_ important to you?"

"It's not the matter of sunglasses. It's respect!" Beansprout yelled in my face. I winced.

"Well, I'm sure he feels sorry for his mistake and won't do it again, am I right?" I looked at the boy for clarification and he nodded his head. I turned back to the group and gave them a diplomatic smile. "See?"

"Hahi!" It looks like Haru finally snapped out of whatever daze she had been in when I interfered. "I don't see why Tamaki-kun has to apologise to them! _They're_ the ones in the wrong!"

I opened my mouth, about to tell her that, no, the boy was not totally blameless and _shit, man, you shouldn't piss them off like that_, but it was too late.

Meatloaf's temper had snapped and pushed Haru – along with the boy – into the river. I acted quickly and grabbed her shoulders and tugged sharply, pulling her back to the riverbank before she could fall in. It was too bad that I overestimated my strength.

According to Newton's third law of motion, when one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body. Hence, since I pulled Haru away from the river, I was pushed _towards_ it.

I fell into the river.

My breath was knocked out of me and I instinctively tried to take in air. Big mistake.

Water burned as it went down my breathing pipe and into my lungs. Cold seeped through my body and I could feel my vision getting blurrier and darker. I flail manically, trying to get myself out of the water.

Five seconds. Ten seconds. No progress. I closed my eyes.

Was I going to die here?

(Did I want to die like this?)

(Did I… Did I want to die at all?)

_(Do you want to live?)_

My mother's face flashed by, followed by Reborn, Hayato, Takeshi, Lambo…

…

_I refuse to die._

A sudden calm settled within me as my eyes snapped open. I quickly oriented myself and swam towards the light.

I took a deep breath as I broke the surface, and the calm faded from me, leaving me with fatigue. Just as I was about to sink again, someone grabbed my arms and hauled me back to the surface.

"Are you alright? Breathing fine?" Haru asked, panicking. Behind her, the little boy looked mildly traumatized. I am so sorry you had to see that, Tamaki-kun.

I nodded and motioned to her to give me space. She obediently moved back a little and I faced the river and started violently coughing out water. A breeze blew by and I shivered since I was soaked to the bone. A warm weight draped over my head and black fabric obscured my vision. I shifted it so I could look at the cloth and realized that it was a black gakuran top with a red… armband…

From behind me, I heard a terrifying, cold voice. "Those who harm the students of Namimori Middle will be bitten to death."

Mechanically, I stood up and turned Tamaki away from the gory view that was about to follow, covering his ears. "Haru-san," I spoke, "Perhaps we should walk Tamaki-kun back to his home."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're alright?" Haru asked me for the umpteenth that day after we dropped the little boy off. She was currently walking me home because she was afraid I'd keel over or something.<p>

"Yes, Haru-san. I'm fine now."

"What were you thinking?" she frowned at me, "Doing something so reckless!" I shrugged and pulled Hibari-senpai's jacket closer around me in order to absorb more of its warmth.

"Well, I wasn't really thinking that much. I just knew that I couldn't let you and Tamaki-kun be in danger, you know? And then my body moved by itself," I laughed sheepishly, "I probably should've used lesser strength when pulling you back, though."

"You…"

Haru suddenly stopped walking. I paused as well, and turned back to peer at her curiously. "Haru-san, are you alright?"

"My heart…" A bright blush was on her face and her hands over her heart. "My heart is pounding!"

"Um…"

"Haru has fallen in love!" Her eyes sparkled. I felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Um."

"What's your name?" I saw this as a chance to pull the situation back to my field.

Giving her a polite smile, I extended my hand towards her for a handshake. "It's probably a little late for introductions, but oh well. Hello, my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. It's nice to meet you."

"A-ah!" Haru was startled out of her sparkling by my blunt politeness. "My name is Miura Haru. It's nice to meet you too."

I gestured up the road. "If I recall, your house is somewhere around here. Mine's further up ahead. I guess we'll be splitting up here. See you!" I beamed at her and gave her a little wave before quickly walking away. While Haru didn't exactly say who she had fallen in love with, I had a vague idea that I didn't want to confirm.

I know Hibari-senpai is really cool and all, but being attracted to him, much less being in love with him, is just plain suicidal.

* * *

><p>Later that day, my (new!) phone beeped as I came out of the shower. I picked it up and read the message.<p>

'_I expect my jacket to be returned to me tomorrow, little herbivore.' _

I dropped the phone onto the floor in shock.

_Who the hell gave him my number?!_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's notes<strong>

unbetaed as per usual. Don't worry, I'll read back on these and then edit them for the better. (also why do i only post at night)

WHO ELSE DO I NEED TO BRING IN BEFORE I CAN START KOKUYO

Artistic license for roaring river. I know that the river wasn't very deep or dangerous, but just bear with me? Also, Hibari seems like the easiest to write fanservice for? It's kind of weird. Also, as stated in the story, the river isn't very far from namimori middle. So hibari-senpai catching a bunch of idiots crowding and going there to dish out heaven's retribution should be pretty reasonable.

Lack of Takeshi here. I'm sad.

Hey, what would you think if I created a blog (tumblr) to post update statuses and story ideas? Also maybe polls and stuff to see what you would like to see next in the story.

**Quotes **

"girls who can run in heels should be feared" – absentions on tumblr

"I'm very strong, I could fight off maybe 20 snails, 21 on a good day" – apricockjam on tumblr

**Reviews**

**Ri-chan** Byakuran's not a reincarnation. In the manga/anime (SPOILERS but you probably knew that already) it was said that Byakuran had the ability to see into different parallel universes, hence all the weird references.

**After note**

Should go to sleep now. I have work tomorrow. Bye~ (Also what pairings do you like the most/want to see the most? Just professional[?] curiousity)


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: this whole thing is basically just a giant filler **

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

><p><strong>You just have to do your best dealing with things as they come and hope people forgive you when you make a mistake<strong>

* * *

><p>I knocked on the door in front of me and prepared to wait. It took some time but finally Hayato opened the door.<p>

And promptly froze upon seeing me at the entrance.

"T-tenth! What are you doing here?" he stuttered out. I smiled at him politely.

"I came here to visit you, Hayato. You didn't go to school yesterday so I was a bit concerned. Um," I held up the bag I brought along with me. "Bianchi-san told me you were sick so I cooked some chicken soup for you. I hope you're feeling better now."

"T-tenth," he appeared to be tearing up. I tried hard to keep the smile on my face as I stood there, awkwardly waiting for him to recover. I looked down at my feet and back up at Hayato, about to ask if I could come in, when I saw it.

"Hayato. How did you get hurt?"

He blinked rapidly and looked down at himself – T-shirt and pants, with bandages wrapped all over his body – and winced. "Tenth, I can explain!" he said desperately. I nodded slowly, waiting for him to talk, whilst wondering why he was so afraid.

"I was training. So that I can become a better right hand man for you, tenth!"

"…" I wasn't quite sure how to answer that. "May I come in?"

"Sure! Of course!" He quickly backed away and made space for me to step into the house. I looked around as I walked in. The walls were painfully bare and everything was in various shades of white and grey.

It looked so lonely.

I glanced back at Hayato, who looked incredibly skittish and restless. I looked back down on the floor and sighed. He probably didn't really want me to be here.

"Um, I'll leave the soup in the kitchen and leave."

"No!" Hayato burst out. He then looked a bit startled and quickly amended his statement. "I mean, if you want to stay, you can stay."

I gave a sigh. "Hayato, it's fine. If you don't want me here, I can leave. No hard feelings." From the start, I already knew that Hayato had this tendency to push himself into doing things he disliked for "my benefit". I really,_ really_ wish he would stop that.

(And yet, a small, attention-starved part of me wants him to continue.)

(How disgusting.)

"I really do want you to stay, tenth. It's just that…" He looked away. "Tenth is too great to be standing in such an apartment."

"…" I have absolutely no idea what to say to him. Seriously, I doubt he'll listen if I told him I wasn't that great.

"Well." I looked around for a conversation topic before we were engulfed and eaten up by the awkward silence. "Have you had your lunch yet?" Hayato shook his head. "Okay, great! I know of this _great_ sushi place in Namimori. Come, I'll treat you!" I didn't give him a chance to object, forcefully pulling him out of his apartment – pausing only to let him lock his door – and down the street to Takesushi.

* * *

><p>"Just order anything you want!"<p>

"B-but tenth…"

"Just order." At my smile, Hayato shuddered with slight aprrehension and went back to staring at the menu.

We browsed through the menu in semi-comfortable silence while the sushi chef waited patiently with a polite smile.

"Hey, dad! I think I–" Takeshi entered the restaurant through the back door, holding a bamboo sword. He stopped short when he saw Hayato and me, and the three of us stared at each other in total, utter awkwardness.

"Uh," Takeshi said.

"Um," Hayato and I replied.

The sushi chef's eyes flickered between the both of us for a while before he decided to break the silence. "Do you know these customers, Takeshi?" he asked curiously.

"Uh, yeah." Takeshi seemed to relax and walked over to us. "Dad, this is Tsuna and Hayato."

"Oi! Who gave you permission to–"

"Tsuna, huh?" the man's eyes were suddenly fixed onto me with a frightening intensity. I squeaked and flinched a little. Man, I did _not_ want to be this guy's enemy.

"Yes, sir. That's me," I replied cautiously. He stared at me for a while longer before breaking into a warm smile, obviously accepting whatever he saw in me.

"Since you're Takeshi's friend, the bill is on the house!" he told me. I immediately protested.

"No way. Mum told me to always pay for what I buy!"

"C'mon, Tsuna!" Takeshi plopped down in the seat next to me and threw an arm over my shoulder. Hayato obviously disapproved of his behaviour, but Takeshi paid him no attention. "Since dad said it's alright, then it's alright! Don't refuse the offer!"

I stared at Takeshi with an unamused face. "I'm paying. That's final."

Something hit my head, forcing my face onto the desk. I didn't bother trying to get up, already knowing who the culprit was.

"Baka-Tsuna." Yeap, _totally_ knew it was him. "You should allow your subordinates to take care of you."

"They're not my subordinates, Reborn. They're my friends," I said, though my voice was a bit muffled by the table.

"Subordinates," Reborn said.

"Friends," I corrected.

"Subordinates."

"_Friends_."

Takeshi's dad burst out laughing, interrupting our argument. All of us turned to look at him in confusion, but he didn't give an explanation, only waving us off. I sighed and turned to Takeshi, about to ask about the actions of his father, when I realised something.

"Takeshi, I thought you said you were at baseball practice." And with my words, the atmosphere turned awkward once again.

"Tsuna, I can explain!" Takeshi said hurriedly, panic blooming on his face. This scene was really familiar. I felt really tired.

"You were practicing kendo?" I interjected. Takeshi paused in his babbling and nodded sheepishly.

"Yeah. It was to get stronger so that I could protect you better, Tsuna." I stared at him, not too sure how to answer to that.

"The tenth doesn't need your protection! He has me!" Hayato cut in. Takeshi merely brushed off his callous remarks, laughing. I remained silent as they started one of their usual arguments. I didn't understand them. Was this some macho man male thing? My brother wasn't like that at all!

"Why didn't the both of you tell me that you were training?" I asked. Hayato and Takeshi froze in the middle of their fight and stared at me. I looked back up at the both of them. "It's not like I'll stop you from training or anything. You don't have to keep this sort of thing from me."

"We didn't want to worry you, Tsuna."

"Yeah! You didn't need to know anyway, tenth."

"Didn't need to know? Didn't want to worry me?" I felt like crying. "I'm your friend, aren't I? I'll be worried for you either way! And of course I need to know! What if you get hurt? I…" I looked back down at my lap. "Never mind. I apologise. Forget what I said." Maybe I was demanding too much from them. Maybe I was pushing too hard. People liked their privacy, didn't they? Is that what a good relationship is about? It's been so long that I can't… I can't remember anymore.

"No. We should be the one that's apologising." I snapped my head up to look at my friends.

"Sorry for making you worry like that, tenth," Hayato all but yelled as he practically bowed before me. I quickly stopped him before he could go into a dogeza. "Please forgive my impudence!"

"I should have told you the truth. I'm sorry," Takeshi smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced at my face and his eyes widened. "Tsuna! You…"

I could feel that my eyes were burning and I quickly looked away, hiding my face behind my hands. "No!" I squeaked, laughing and crying at the same time. "Don't look at me."

"Tenth!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!"

"Well, if you insist," Takeshi grinned, "As an apology for making you cry, let me treat you to sushi!"

"Seriously, stop trying to prevent me from paying for my meal!"

* * *

><p><strong>I've come to realise that I've had <strong>_**way**_** more near death experiences than I should**

* * *

><p>Weeks passed and I felt that the bond between Hayato, Takeshi and I was stronger than ever. That was why I immediately noticed when they were acting strange.<p>

Actually, it wasn't just them. When I awoke this morning, literally _everyone_ I knew was acting out of the ordinary. There _must_ be a special occasion today, but what? Today was the thirteenth of October, but as far as I remembered, there wasn't anything special happening anytime soon. Mother's birthday was in March, father's was in June. Hayato, Takeshi, and Lambo, and Haru's were in September, April, and May, respectively. I didn't really know when Bianchi or Haru's birthdays were but, from the way they were acting, it probably wasn't theirs.

So whose could it be?

"Ciaossu." I froze and slowly turned to my tutor. Could it be?

"Reborn!"

"Everyone's preparing for a birthday party," he told me. He didn't seem to be in any hurry and something told me I shouldn't press any further. While I wasn't a hundred percent sure, my intuition wasn't giving me a killer headache, so that had to count for something.

Today was Reborn's birthday!

I smiled at him. While I furiously thought about what to give to Reborn as a birthday present. I seriously had no idea what he wanted, or what he even liked. Neither did I have a clue as to how to get a present on such short notice. It was already three! I know that my mother likes to start her parties just in time for dinner so I only had three and a half more hours…

"See you later, Reborn!" I waved at him before sprinting off to the supermarket. If there was one thing I was confident in, it was cooking. I thought back to the food Reborn ate while in our house. It seemed that he always went for the nami flavoured miso soup first whenever mother or I cooked it, and, more often than not, took my share as well. Also, he usually drank espresso in the morning, although it was the instant kind. He always made a strange face while drinking the coffee, so I guess he didn't really like instant coffee that much.

But I knew he liked espresso.

As I ran to the supermarket, I took out my phone and searched for some recipes. My eyes scanned the list of recipes, getting increasingly frustrated before I found it.

_Yes! Perfect!_

* * *

><p>"Reborn! Where are you?" It was nearing six thirty in the afternoon and I had to find Reborn. I was a bit antsy, seeing that I rushed through my present. There was bound to be some mistakes here and there! What if Reborn didn't like it? What if it tasted <em>awful<em>?

As I was just about to ruin myself with worry, a weight settled on my head, making me relax. "Hello Reborn. It's time to go home."

As I started walking, I could barely contain my excitement and nerves. Reborn probably had a surprise birthday party before, but it was always fun. Well, I guess it wouldn't really be a surprise if he already knew about it… but it's still the thought that counts, yeah?

I paused before the door and took a deep breath. Reborn hopped down from my head to the floor beside me, and I opened the door.

"Surprise!" Mother, Takeshi, Haru and Bianchi were standing behind the door with party poppers in their hands. I turned to Reborn, smiling.

"Congratulations, Reborn! You've successfully survived another year on this planet!"

Reborn glanced at me strangely due to my weird words but still thanked all of us for preparing the party for him.

He then stepped inside the house and the celebration officially begun.

* * *

><p>What the hell is this Vongolian birthday tradition bullshit and why did Reborn feel the need to bring it over here and complicate our simple celebration?<p>

"Since Yamamoto brought the sushi," Reborn announced dramatically, "He receives eighty points."

Haru took out a pretty white suit she made and received eighty-five points for it. It was a rather well-made suit, that reminded me of a certain shop and an incident that definitely Did Not Happen.

Wait, Haru's surname is Miura, right?

"Tsu-kun, perhaps you should take your present out now!" mother whispered to me, nudging me discreetly. I nodded to her I stood up to go into the kitchen.

While I was in the kitchen, I heard shrieks of terror and hence decided that I could wait for a while before coming back out. In the meantime, I could probably try to brew some espresso with the leftover coffee beans I had.

When I came back and saw the sliced furniture and panicked faces, I really didn't want to know. I glanced at the scoreboard and saw that Bianchi received ninety points for whatever she did. It made me wish even harder to stay ignorant.

"So, Baka-Tsuna. What's _your_ present?" Reborn asked me. I hesitantly placed the tray I was carrying on a table in front of him and cut out a slice of cake.

"Here. I, um, baked this just now. I hope it tastes fine." I passed the slice of cake to Reborn and, too scared to see his reaction, went to go check on Hayato. He passed out earlier due to close contact with his sister, so I placed him on the couch. Again.

I am _really_ worried about him and his responses to seeing his sister's face. I hope that his state of unconsciousness would allow him to _not_ take part in this crazy birthday party. Knowing him, he'd probably do some strange stunt that would only put more strain on his body.

"Tsu-kun! Reborn's calling for you!" At my mother's request, I went back to receive my verdict.

I stood in front of Reborn, fidgeting nervously. I couldn't read anything from his expression and that made me _incredibly_ nervous.

"The espresso chiffon cake was good, but the coffee was average," he told me. "I'll give you eighty-six points." I sighed in relief, and then I froze once again.

"Coffee?" Sure enough, Reborn was drinking the espresso I made only a few minutes ago. "Hiiee! The coffee wasn't supposed to be drunk. I just made it for practice!"

Reborn hummed as he seemed to contemplate something, skillfully dodging my attempts to snatch back the cup of coffee in his hands. "Alright then. You'll be making me a cup of coffee every morning, Baka-Tsuna," he decided. "If it isn't up to standard, I'll shoot you."

"Don't just decide things on your own! Hey, Reborn, are you even listening to me?"

Everyone laughed, thinking that the little Satan-spawn not-baby was joking. Too bad I knew all too well that he wasn't.

I despaired.

* * *

><p>All of us, including Hayato but excluding my mother, were sitting at the dining table and eating the cake I made. I managed to talk Bianchi into wearing a pair of sunglasses, so as to not trigger Hayato's near fatal stomachaches.<p>

"Baka-Tsuna, how did you know it was my birthday today?" Reborn asked.

"Well, everyone was acting really suspicious today, so I thought about the date. There wasn't any special occasions coming up, and while I didn't know Bianchi-san and Haru-san's birthdays, I could tell it probably wasn't theirs. So, the only option left was you, Reborn." He frowned at my answer.

"No special occasions? Isn't it your birthday tomorrow?" After Reborn spoke, everything froze and a hushed silence settled over us. I was the only one left moving as I chewed on my bite of cake.

"Well yeah, I guess." In all actuality, I had totally forgotten. In my past life, we didn't celebrate birthdays all that often and I guessed I brought the habit over to this life as well. Coupled with the fact that my mother could be quite forgetful, it was only natural that I would forget about my birthday as well.

"I mean, I don't celebrate my birthday," I continued, trying to dispel the awkward silence.

"Tenth, you mean, your family doesn't celebrate birthdays?" Hayato asked. I shook my head.

"Nah. I mean I celebrate mum's birthday and dad's too, when he decides to come home. I just don't really celebrate mine, y'know? I don't want to cause mum any trouble. It's not like it's really important, anyway." I took another mouthful of cake as everybody stared at me incredulously. Haru then flung herself towards me. I choked on the piece of cake in my mouth as her body hit mine, and the both of us tumbled onto the floor.

"Don't worry, Tsuna-san! Haru will make sure to celebrate your birthday with you tomorrow!"

"Oi, let go of tenth!" Hayato picked Haru and all but threw her aside. If I wasn't trying to dislodge the cake stuck in my throat, I would've reprimanded him for the rough way he handled her. "Tenth, I swear that I'll never forget your birthday!"

"Yeah." Takeshi kneeled down beside me. "I promise we'll celebrate your birthday every year!" Right, thanks. That's nice and all but I _really_ need some water here or I will _die_.

Reborn hit me on the back, helping me breathe again. Ah, sweet, blessed air!

"Thanks," I managed to rasp out. I was thanking Reborn for saving my life, but I guess I was also thanking my friends for caring for me. I just wished they weren't so… _enthusiastic_ with their feelings. I met Reborn's eye and fought back a shudder. Judging by the gleam in those soulless black orbs, I just _knew_ he was planning something.

I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow?

* * *

><p><strong>Omake<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Don't let yourself become so concerned with raising a good <strong>**kid ****that you forget you already have one**

* * *

><p>Sawada Tsunayoshi was an odd child. This was a fact everyone knew from the very beginning.<p>

He never quite liked to play with the other children, no matter how much Nana encouraged him to; preferring to stay indoors, devouring books and helping his mother with household chores. Every time someone commented about him to Nana, they would start with "Tsunayoshi-kun is such an obedient boy, but there's something about him…"

As he grew older, he became more and more withdrawn. Rarely did he go out of the house and, even if he did, he always spent his time alone. Nana was incredibly worried about him. Surely this sort of behaviour wasn't healthy, right?

She could see that Tsunayoshi didn't want this. Every time they would pass by a pair of children playing, he would get such a wistful, longing look in his eyes. She knew he _wanted_ to play with the other kids. But why didn't he?

She talked to him, once, about making friends with others. She wasn't sure if he was aware of it, but as the conversation went on, Tsunayoshi's expression turned so heartbreakingly sad that she never approached the subject again.

Tsunayoshi wasn't good at sports, but he wasn't _bad _either. He didn't score extremely well on tests, but he never failed. All in all, he was so painfully plain and average that everyone couldn't help but overlook him. Everyone but Nana.

Time passed by. People forgot about the existence of Sawada Tsunayoshi. Nana wondered if her son was actually _living_ or simply just _existing_.

She didn't want to know the answer.

So when Iemitsu called to tell her that he was going to send a home tutor to "_improve our Tsu-kun's life!",_ she didn't hesitate to say yes.

* * *

><p><strong>Omake again. Because I want to. (it's kinda [damn creepy] 6927. just sayin)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Any of ya'll know Labyrinth? It's that one cool movie with David Bowie inside.<strong>

* * *

><p>'For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom is as great…' Tsuna hummed as he read. It was a rather interesting story, though he wished that it was in Japanese. While he <em>could<em> read English, it had been _so_ long since he last used the language so he was quite rusty.

"Oi, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn kicked the book out of his grasp. "Have you done your homework?"

Tsuna glared at the little baby. "Of course I have! Why the hell would I be reading if I hadn't?" At Reborn's shrug, Tsuna grew even more frustrated. At the back of his mind, he wondered why he was so angry, so confrontational. He wasn't usually like that.

"I can't do anything right, can I?" Tsuna hissed. His mind flashed back to the book he had been reading. "I wish…"

_Stop it! Stop it! Don't say it!_

"I wish… I wish the goblins would come and take you away right now!"

A flash of lightning lit up the entire room, blinding Tsuna for a second. The lights flickered out and he shrieked. The windows rattled harshly, like someone was trying to force their way in. Tsuna could swear that he heard laughter coming from every dark corner of the room.

"Reborn?" There was no answer. "Reborn!" Still nothing. "Reborn, this isn't funny."

Something was scratching at the window, demanding to be let in. Tsuna quickly backed away from it. No way was he going to be anywhere near it. Never mind that the thing probably couldn't even come in since the window was locked.

_Click._

He spoke too soon.

The windows flew open and a mass of white came in. Tsuna screamed, immediately turning around and ran towards the door. He tried to open it, turning the door knob and hitting the door wildly. It didn't work. It was as if the door had been glued firmly shut.

"Kufufufufu…"

Tsuna froze up like a startled animal, and slowly turned to look over his shoulder. Just before the window stood a young man, not much older than him, with indigo hair and heterochromatic eyes. His lips were curled up in a self-satisfied smirk and his right eye glowing ominously.

"No… way…" Oh hell _no_. No way is that possible. It was just a book, right? Goblins don't exist, right? No way in hell was that weird person the Goblin King, _right_?

Tsuna's eyes flickered about, looking for Reborn. He wasn't there. Tsuna's gaze went back to the only other person in his room. "You're… you're the Goblin King, aren't you?"

The person's smirk grew wider and he looked like the cat who got _both_ the canary and the cream. "I'd prefer it if you called me Mukuro," he told Tsuna, voice like honey and velvet, but with a certain underlying current of danger.

"I would like Reborn back, please," Tsuna requested quietly. Politely. Mukuro laughed.

"What's said is said. You can't take back your words _that_ easily."

"I didn't mean it!"

"People _never_ say things they don't mean, Sawada Tsunayoshi," he taunted. "And besides, you have to follow through with the words you speak."

"Well then, I'm saying this now." Tsuna gritted his teeth and swallowed down his fear, taking a step towards the Goblin King. "Return Reborn back to this room. Please."

A flash of silver and Tsuna froze. He swallowed nervously, eyes on the trident that was almost touching his neck. One more step and he would've…

"Don't defy me, Tsunayoshi-kun," came Mukuro's voice, soft and deceptively sweet. "You're no match for me."

"…" Tsuna swallowed again and took a deep breath to calm himself. "But I need Reborn back," he said resolutely. Mukuro rolled his eyes, caught between amusement and annoyance. He pulled his trident back to stab it out of the window.

"The way out is in the Mist Castle, _right_ over there." Mukuro gave a sharp smile. "Do you _really_ want to go looking for him?" Tsuna glanced out of the window to see an indigo castle far, _far_ away from where he was standing, with a labyrinth stretched out between him and it.

"Yes," he replied without hesitation.

"Oh?" Mukuro didn't sound pleased. Tsuna turned back to look at him and found himself in a lake full of lotus flowers.

"I'm going. It doesn't look that far, anyway."

Mukuro's eyes narrowed as he walked towards Tsuna. Tsuna tried to back away but Mukuro wound a hand around his waist and leaned into the whisper in his ear. "It's further than you think, Tsunayoshi-kun. You only have six hours to complete this labyrinth. Or you'll have to stay here, with me. Forever."

Tsuna pushed at his shoulders, looking to the side. "Um, shouldn't it be 'Or Reborn will become one of us' or something along those lines? That's what's in the book, after all."

"Why would I want the Arcobaleno?" Mukuro scoffed, pulling Tsuna closer to him. Tsuna squeaked. "The person I want is you, Von-go-la De-ci-mo."

Tsuna's eyes widened and he jerked back. "How–" he opened his mouth to ask, but Mukuro was gone.

"_Remember, Tsunayoshi-kun. Six hours."_

Tsuna forced back his shiver and turned back to the labyrinth. "Right. It doesn't really look _that_ hard," he told himself. He was quite deep in denial. "Well, first step starts the journey." And with that, he walked into the labyrinth.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not going to write everything in the movie because I'll cry<strong>

* * *

><p>Tsuna stood in front of two doors, one red and one blue. A pair of monochrome statues stood beside them.<p>

"One of us tells the truth, while the other lies."

"One door leads to the castle, while the other leads to certain death."

Tsuna stared at the pair of statues for a while, wracking his brain for the right question to ask. He knew the answer to this puzzle, he read it before in countless books, played it in countless video games, _but why couldn't he remember? _

"Argh! Whatever! It's not like I have a question limit, anyway." He sighed and looked back up at the both of them. "Alright. Does one plus one equal to two? Yes or no."

"…"

* * *

><p>Ken was a tall blond boy with amber eyes and a scar stretching across his nose, and seemed more animal than man. While he wasn't much help to Tsuna he <em>occasionally<em> provided Tsuna with sound advice and hence Tsuna didn't really complain about him tagging along.

"You really are hopeless aren't you?" Ken mocked. Tsuna tried to ignore him, but it was rather hard. He could feel the time slowly ticking away. He really needed to get Reborn back before the six hours were up. Also, he didn't want to stay in the same realm with the creepy Goblin King for a minute longer, much less forever.

A muted growling sound echoed through the forest the duo was travelling through, making Tsuna blush bright red. "Ignore that," he muttered. He blushed brighter when Ken's raucous laughter echoed louder, masking the sound of his stomach growling.

"Yo, Tuna–"

"It's _Tsuna_."

"Whatever. Anyway, I have something for ya." Ken grinned as he held up a pineapple. Tsuna stared at it in disbelief. "What? You're hungry, right?"

"Yeah, but how am I supposed to eat this?" Tsuna frowned. "Besides mother told me to never accept things from strangers."

Ken rolled his eyes dismissively. "Yeah alright." Tsuna blinked and suddenly there was a bowl of pineapple slices in Ken's hand. "How about now?"

"Um." Tsuna backed away. "That's a _little_ too convenient. It's basically got 'trap' written all over it. I'm _not_ going to eat that."

"Oh well." Ken shrugged without a hint of guilt or hesitation. "It's not like you have a choice."

He then pounced onto Tsuna and all but shoved a pineapple slice down the smaller boy's throat.

* * *

><p>Tsuna found himself in a beautiful ballroom, decorated with gold and silver. Silk curtains hung from the ceiling, in front of large crystal windows. The marble dance floor seemed to stretch on forever, as masked partygoers danced on it.<p>

They seemed like they were having so much fun.

Tsuna was dressed in a beautiful suit, glittering white and orange as vibrant as his flames. His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for… something.

Why was he here, anyway? He knew he wouldn't have come to such a function of his own will. Could Reborn have forced him here?

Wait, Rebor–

"Care for a dance?" a familiar, honeyed voice whispered into Tsuna's ear, cutting off his train of thought and making him jump.

"Hiee!" Tsuna spun around, quickly moving away from the person. "You…" He frowned. "You look familiar. Who _are_ you?"

A young man, with strange indigo hair and a silver mask that obscured his eyes, stood in front of him, clothed in black and indigo, making him seem mysterious and alluring.

"Kufufufufu, I'm still waiting for an answer." It was when he spoke that Tsuna realised that he had been staring. Flushing bright red, Tsuna automatically nodded his head. The attractive stranger grabbed Tsuna's hand and led him out to the dance floor, starting off with a rather simple and slow dance. Tsuna blanched once he realised what he was doing. He _knew_ he couldn't dance to save his life. So why did he accept? He's going to make a total utter fool of himself. He squeezed his eye shut and resolutely kept his head down. Ahh, he was going to trip and fall he just _knew_ it.

"Have more confidence in yourself," the stranger said, placing a finger beneath Tsuna's chin to tilt his face up. Tsuna's eyes fluttered open and, upon seeing how close the stranger's face was to his, looked away. It didn't do much to calm his nerves. He leaned forward and buried his head into the stranger's shoulder.

"Everyone's staring," he muttered.

"Kufufufu. Let them stare. They're just jealous that such a cute person is dancing with me, and not them. Don't pay them any mind, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"If you say so, I guess… Wait." Tsuna looked back at the stranger. "How do you know my name?" He then caught sight of a clock behind the stranger, and his memories came rushing back to him. Without wasting a second, Tsuna twisted out of the stranger's – no – Mukuro's grasp and ran. The masked partygoers stretched out their hands, trying to keep him back, but Tsuna expertly weaved through them.

He kept running, never looking back, until he reached a large, reflective wall. Tsuna gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"You can't just break the wall!" one of the partygoers protested. Tsuna narrowed his eyes.

"Watch me."

His fists burst into orange flames as he punched the wall, and the world shattered around him.

* * *

><p>"Is this how the world looks like when you do drugs?" Tsuna muttered to himself, "Because if that's the case, I am <em>never<em> doing drugs."

Multiple flights of stairs stretched out in front of him and the paths twisted and turned 'til they went upside down and around and around. Gravity probably didn't work very well here.

"Hello, Tsunayoshi-kun. I'm surprised you made it this far."

Tsuna whirled around to face Mukuro. He held the taller boy's gaze coolly and confidently, no longer afraid. "Where's Reborn?" he asked. Mukuro gave his signature creepy laugh.

"Like I said before, why would I bother with the Arcobaleno?" he smirked. "Really, Tsunayoshi-kun. Don't you remember what I said?" Tsuna blinked and suddenly Mukuro was gone.

A hand wrapped around his waist from behind him, drawing him back into a mockery of a lover's embrace. Mukuro leaned down to whisper in Tsuna's ear.

"The one I want is you, Vongola Decimo."

Tsuna twisted around in his grasp and started pushing at Mukuro's chest, trying to get away. He avoided looking at him in the eye, instead choosing to find a way out of this hellhole. He couldn't find a visible exit.

A clock floated in front of his vision, showing that five hours and fifty-eight minutes had already passed by. He only had two more minutes left to escape.

Mukuro's gloved had reached up to cup Tsuna's face, forcing brown eyes to look into red and blue ones. "Just give up, Tsunayoshi-kun. You'll be staying with me forever."

Tsuna rapidly shook his head and doubled his attempts to break free. "Like _hell_ I'm staying here! I have so much I still need to do! I have _responsibilities, dammit._ I can't leave my mother alone!" There _must_ be a way out. Tsuna _knew_ there was.

And then he remembered.

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered," Tsuna began softly

"Oh?"

"I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City."

The smirk on Mukuro's face faltered and Tsuna knew that he was on the right track.

"For my will is as strong as yours." His voice grew louder, surer, more confident.

"Tsunayoshi-kun, stop."

"And my kingdom is as great."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi, _look at me_." Tsuna reflexively glanced into Mukuro's eyes, and it was all downhill from there.

Mukuro's right eye burned with a strange flame, making Tsuna lose his concentration.

_No! He couldn't! Not right now!_

"You… you have…"

Mukuro brushed Tsuna's bangs from his face and held him in place, making sure that he couldn't look away.

"You have… no…"

_Why couldn't he remember the line?_

The clock ticked as the seconds went by.

"You have… no power… over…" Tsuna's eyes lit up. "You have no power over m–"

The minute hand of the clock struck twelve, and the bells tolled. It was all over.

"No… way…"

Mukuro's face twisted into a cruel smile. "It looks like, I win, Vongola Decimo." Tsuna tried, again, to twist out of the elder's grasp but stopped short when something with three points pricked at his neck. He was quite willing to bet that it was the trident from before.

"Now stay still, Vongola Decimo, and let me claim my reward." Tsuna could only stay, frozen in place, as Mukuro leaned in closer, and closer…

* * *

><p>With a gasp, Tsuna's eyes snapped open. He quickly turned over to check if Reborn was still in his room, sleeping in his hammock. Thankfully, he was. Tsuna put a hand on his chest to calm his rapid heartbeat.<p>

"Alright, okay," he muttered. "No more pizza before bed."

Outside his window, a white owl with strangely coloured eyes hooted once before dissolving into mist.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

I miss writing in third person pov. Also I've been thinking about labyrinth and mukuro a lot. (why do I even like that homi-genocidal loser so much anyway. He's not even _that_ cute)

Last omake is basically a Labyrinth parody. It is supposed to be creepy. Mukuro is supposed to be creepy. I wrote him to be a creep.

I hope you find him creepy.

Fun fact. A sushi chef can also be known as itamae and the training can last from 2 to 20 years.

Got reborn's favourite drink and food from the wiki. Also probs won't write about Tsuna's birthday.

Next chapter I-pin. Probably Dino as well. Kyoko makes an appearance, hurrah.

**Quotes**

"But that's how life is. You never know how it's going to turn out, and you can't plan for everything. You just have to do your best dealing with things as they come and hope people forgive you when you make a mistake." – Janet Rallison

"Don't let yourself become so concerned with raising a good kid that you forget you already have one." – Glennon Melton

"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City. For my will is as strong as yours, and my kingdom as great… You have no power over me." – Sarah from Labyrinth


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

* * *

><p><strong>My feelings are too loud for words and too shy for the world<strong>

* * *

><p>I like dogs, I really do. Even when they're growling at me, or trying to bite me, I'll still somehow find them cute. However, in this life, there was this one <em>particular<em> dog that I just couldn't stand. I really was hate at first sight, seeing that the first time I met this dog was when it was trying to harm a child for no good reason. Forgetting that I, too, was a child, I had gone up to the dog and tried to coax it to stop being so aggressive.

It bit me and I had to be sent to the hospital for stitches.

From that day on, I _detested_ that particular dog, and it abhorred me. Basically, we had a mutual hate relationship. Every time I walked past it, I would give it a glare. Every time it saw me, it would bark and try to bite me.

Usually, it never did succeed in harming me, due to the chain attached to its collar that restricted its movement. However, this particular day…

Well, you probably got the idea by now.

As I was running down the street, trying desperately to escape the horribly ferocious dog, I passed by a child in red, walking on the wall. Now normally, I wouldn't have paid much attention to her since I was, y'know, _running for my life_. However, this particular child managed to hop off the wall with a somersault and proceeded to _kick the dog's ass_ without even touching it. Understandably, my attention was captured. And I was weirded out.

_Was this baby like Reborn…?_

I crouched down in front of her – well, at least I _think_ she was a her – and gave her a smile. "Hey, thank a lot! What's your name?"

The child scowled at me, but I didn't detect any hostile intent. So why was she frowning? I waited patiently for an answer, smile still fixed on my face. She looked down at the ground and muttered out something. I tried my best to listen to her, but I couldn't quite make out her words. "Yi-Ping?" I guessed. That did not sound like a Japanese name at all. Perhaps it was Chinese?

The child shook her head again and repeated what she said in a louder, clearer tone of voice.

"Oh. I-Pin." Still sounded Chinese. "That's a nice name for a cute girl like you," I laughed and patted her on the head. She seemed to be shaking a little, and was sweating profusely. I frowned, concerned. "Are you alright, I-pin-chan? Do you need any help?" I picked her off the ground and held her up so I could see her face. She was biting her bottom lip and frowning. Suddenly, nine circles, three rows of three, appeared on her head. I stared at them, wondering why they seemed so familiar.

The nine circles faded to eight circles, two rows of four, and I recognized it. It was the circle suit from Mahjong! But why was it appearing on this girl's forehead?

She suddenly moved out of my grasp and attached herself to me, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. I slowly wrapped my arms around her trembling form, wondering what was wrong. Soon, the number of circles reached one, and then…

_Boom!_

* * *

><p>"I-pin is an assassin from Hong Kong. She's also known as the human bomb."<p>

I stared at Reborn with deadpan eyes, unamused. I would have given him a retort if my throat, along with my vocal chords, hadn't been affected in the blast. Thankfully, the doctor said that I would recover quite quickly, and without scars too. The doctor seemed strangely foreign, though, and I was willing to bet that he was an underground doctor Reborn called over. Also, I really wanted to know exactly how I survived the explosion…

Currently, I was lying in a hospital bed – in a private room! – and listening to Reborn giving me a lecture on why I shouldn't trust random strangers I saw on the street. I didn't _need_ this talk, Reborn! I already knew that taking candy from men in white vans was bad news or they would abduct me and bring me to aliens so that the aliens would be able to uncover the secrets behind how humans domesticated cows…

Wow. The morphine must be affecting me more than I thought it would. It was probably time to turn down the dosage.

I-Pin walked back into the room and set my phone down on the table. I had lent it to her so that she could call her mentor for whatever reason. Reborn translated her words for me, and said it was fine, so who was I to reject the child's request? My stomach growled and she offered a steamed bun to me and I shook my head. The doctor told me I couldn't eat solid food for a while, or talk, if I wanted a quicker recovery, so I listened to him. He _was_ the doctor after all. I-Pin seemed a little confused as to why I was refusing, so Reborn explained my situation to her. She listened in silence for a while and I could see her slowly withdrawing into herself. I gently lifted my arm – the one without that blasted IV drip connected to it – and pulled her closer to me for a hug. I tried to wordlessly convey to her that I forgave her, and I hoped she got the message.

Reborn observed us for a while before he sighed. "They're coming," he warned. I stared at him in confusion? Who was coming?

And then the door to the hospital burst open, and a bunch of people came tumbling in. I winced at the noise they made and hoped that the terrifying nurse didn't hear it. God knows what she would do to me if she heard the loud ruckus.

"Tenth!"

"Tsuna!"

"SAWADA!"

"Tsuna-kun!"

Alright, so I might have expected the first two people, but why were Sasagawa-senpai and Kyoko here?

"Tenth!" Hayato was the first by my side. I instinctively shifted I-pin away from him and his chaotic energy when he started babbling about assassins and "protecting the tenth". I stared at him blankly, waiting for him to stop before I could try gesturing my story across to him. I wasn't even going to rely on Reborn since there was a possibility he'd twist the story into something really strange.

Takeshi stood behind Hayato, staring at me with a conflicted expression. "We shouldn't have let you walk home by yourself," he said. "We should have protected you." My eyes widened. Oh _god_, not this again! I had been functioning fine without constant surveillance for _years_! I didn't need two teenagers to protect me!

I started shaking my head rapidly, trying to convey to Takeshi that I was fine by myself. He backed down, but didn't seem convinced. I could see the same speculative glint in Hayato's eyes as well, and I resolved to take _great_ care of myself for the next few months. Even a _paper cut_ would be used by them as proof I needed their protection. It really, _really_ frustrated me. I was a grown human being! Well, mentally that is. Even so, I was a physical teenager, just like them. I wasn't some defenseless baby that needed their protection! What did I even look like to them?

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice Reborn talking to Sasagawa-senpai and Kyoko. Neither did I notice that Haru had entered the room with Lambo in her hands.

"Tsuna-san, you're a hero!" Haru's excited voice jerked me out of my thoughts and I stared at her blankly. Hero? What?

"Yes, Tsuna-kun! Reborn-kun told us how you saved I-Pin-chan from a bomb! That's why you're in the hospital!" My eyes widened as I snapped my gaze to Kyoko. What the hell? I didn't save I-Pin from a bomb! I-Pin _was_ the bomb!

"SAWADA! YOU'RE AN EXTREME MAN!" Reborn, _what the hell did you do?_

I turned to glare at him but he was sleeping. Great, just _great_. How in the world was I able to clear up this horrible misunderstanding without the ability to talk? I could only settle for shaking my head rapidly once again, but I couldn't get through to them. Dammit, Reborn! I know getting 'family members' for this shitty Mafia thing was important, but why should you lie to them?

I felt a headache building.

When Sasagawa-senpai and Kyoko left, Haru walked forward and placed Lambo on the bed. I looked at her questioningly and she smiled. "Lambo-kun said that he wanted to see Tsuna-san, so I brought him here!" she explained. I nodded and gave Lambo a smile. He was about to hug me when he finally noticed the presence of another child on the bed. I-Pin had also turned around and the two children stared at each other. The air was tense and everyone waited to see what would happen next.

"Yēcàiguàiwù!" I-Pin suddenly shouted out, pointing to Lambo. I blinked, wondering what she just said.

"I-Pin just called Lambo a broccoli monster," Reborn translated. Oh, he was awake.

"Broccoli monster?!" Lambo's jaw dropped open and I winced. It seemed that I needed to have a talk with I-Pin about name calling. "Gotta… stay… calm…" he muttered under his breath and I was afraid he was going to start crying when Lambo suddenly made a funny face and started chasing I-Pin. I-Pin back flipped off the bed and the two started to engage in a strange form of tag. I kept a concerned eye on them, worried that they would trip over something and fall. Haru sat down beside me with a small smile.

"Tsuna-san is very concerned about the children, isn't he?" she asked. I nodded in agreement. Hayato and Takeshi pulled up some chairs and took seats next to my bed, and started chatting about random things to pass the time. It seemed that they would be here until visiting time was over. I wasn't complaining.

There was a muted thump that made me jerk in surprise, and I immediately looked over to the children. I-Pin looked fine, but Lambo seemed to have fallen from a chair. He was rubbing a bruise on his head and sniffling. "Gotta… stay… calm…!" He started bawling and reached into his hair to pull out… a pink bazooka. He aimed it at himself and I tried to move out of bed to prevent Lambo from shooting himself. What was he doing anyway?! Bazookas are dangerous things and shouldn't be in the hand of any child! What the hell?!

Reborn held me back with all the strength of his infant self. Which was quite a lot, to be honest.

Lambo pulled the trigger and pink smoke filled the room. I started coughing and waving it away. When the smoke cleared, Lambo was nowhere to be found. Instead, a charming teenager with wavy, messy black hair and green eyes stood in the place he once was. His right eye was closed, and there was a strange marking under his left one. Green eyes scanned the room before the teenager's gaze landed on me. I stiffened up as his eyes widened and he moved to my bedside at an unimaginable speed.

"Tsuna-nii! What happened? How did you get hurt? Was it an assassin? You're fine now, right?" he babbled out.

"…" I replied. He seemed to calm down a little and took in his surroundings.

"Oh, it seems that I was brought back ten years with the ten years bazooka. Goodness," he sighed. Ten years bazooka…? Was it that pink thing? And he said he was brought back. Could it mean…?!

The teenager smiled at me, as if he had guessed my thought process. "I'm Lambo. Thanks for taking care of me, Tsuna-nii."

_You have got to be kidding me. _

I looked annoyed and Lambo laughed. Yeah, he definitely knew what I was thinking about.

"Your height has always been one of the things you hated," he mused. _See?_ He knew. I looked at him expectantly, and he gave a mischievous grin. "Sorry, Tsuna-nii. You'll never grow past a hundred and sixty-two centimetres."

_Dammit_.

I pouted and Lambo ruffled my hair. I shot him a glare, but otherwise didn't do anything else. He looked around and smiled at everyone, greeting them politely but warmly. I was a bit happy to see that everyone was getting along so well in the future. Lambo suddenly glanced down at his watch and sighed. "Five minutes are almost up. I have to go now," he informed me and promptly disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke. The child Lambo reappeared, holding a piece of paper in his hands. He walked up to me and placed it in my lap.

"Tsuna-nii told me to give it to Tsuna-nii," he explained. Huh, that's weird. I should probably know better than to reveal the contents of the future to my past. From what I could see of teenage Lambo, the future wasn't bad at all! Why would the future me feel the need to give me a letter?

Everyone crowded around me as I unfolded the piece of paper. In it was a simple message, but it was enough to make me inhale sharply in surprised.

'_You belong here. You'll see.' _

The piece of paper dropped from my hands and I closed my eyes.

(Do I really belong here?)

(Or am I just lying to myself?)

_Future me is wrong. I _don't_ belong here, and that's the truth._

* * *

><p><strong>Diet ideas:<strong>** Eat whatever you want, and if anyone tries to lecture you about your weight, eat them too.**

* * *

><p>I had promised to go out with Haru a few weeks after my release from the hospital, so here I was, in front of Namimori cake shop. If this was the cake shop Haru often frequented, it meant she had <em>great<em> taste.

We walked into the shop and Haru started her large order with cakes such as black forest and chocolate raspberry diva. I settled for a small slice of oreo cheesecake, seeing that I wasn't too hungry. After placing my order, I saw that Haru was staring at the display case with an expression of intense concentration on her face. I walked over and pointed at the chocolate marshmallow pie. "I recommend that, Haru-san. Have you tried it before?" Haru shook her head.

"Thank you, Tsuna-san! I'll definitely place an order for that too!"

"Ah, Tsuna-kun?" a familiar voice called out from behind me. I turned around to see Kyoko and waved to her.

"Hello Kyoko-chan! It's nice to see you!" Kyoko nodded and seemed a bit panicked.

"Um, I only do this once a month!" she burst out. I blinked. _Eh?_

"I've decided that I could eat as many cakes as I wanted for every third Sunday of the month!" she explained. "It's not like I eat three whole cakes every day!" I made a noise of understanding. Ah, so that's what she was talking about. I really don't see why she should explain this to me. No actual human being could eat three entire cakes every day.

"That's the same as Haru!" Haru said from behind me excitedly. I turned slightly to look at her. "Every third Sunday is 'Haru appreciation day', and I get to buy as many cakes as I want to treat myself!" Wow, what a coincidence. Now that I think of it, that sort of idea doesn't seem too bad.

"I think this store's mille-feuille is unbeatable," Haru shared.

"Yeah! The cream puffs too!" Kyoko replied. I rolled my eyes.

"_Everything_ in this shop is great. I've yet to find anywhere that could beat it. I'm actually quite partial to the macaroons they make, though," I added in. Both girls nodded in agreement and we went into a deep debate about the best macaroon flavours and what sort of drinks went with them. Unconsciously, we drifted to a table in the shop and sat down to eat and continue our conversation. Soon, the conversation turned to unfamiliar territory.

"So, Kyoko-san," Haru began, "Do you _like_ anyone?" Kyoko blushed slightly and her eyes flickered to me for a moment.

"Maybe."

"Ah? Who is it? Tell us!" Haru pressed. Kyoko remained tightlipped about her secret and Haru sighed. I tried to make myself as small and inconspicuous as possible. This sort of conversation was foreign to me, and I was quite uncomfortable hearing it.

"How about you, Haru-san? Who do you like?" Kyoko asked. Haru beamed at her and suddenly grabbed my arm, pulling me to her side.

"Haru likes Tsuna-san!"

"What?"

"_What?_" Kyoko and I both gaped at her.

"I thought you liked Hibari-senpai!" I blurted out. Haru looked at me strangely.

"The one Haru likes is Tsuna-san. Haru doesn't know who Hibari-senpai is."

"I…" Wow, this was _awkward_. Both girls looked at me, anticipating my reply. I had absolutely no idea how to phrase this to them. "It's not that I don't appreciate your feelings to me, Haru-san," I started, "But I don't even know you that well. Also, I'm not interested in these sort of things."

"Tsuna-san… is not interested in girls?" Haru looked a little scandalized. I shrugged awkwardly.

"Not really? Ah, don't get me wrong; I'm not too interested in guys either. I guess I'm not interested in romantic relationships in general." I forced a smile on my face, hoping that the girls understood. They looked at each other, seeming to have a mental conversation, before they turned to me and smiled.

"We understand, Tsuna-kun," Kyoko said cheerfully.

"Yeah! Tsuna-san's secret is safe with us!" Haru added in. She was a little downcast that her feelings were not reciprocated but it didn't seem to affect her much. She was still the happy, upbeat person she always was, and I took that as a win. I didn't really know what kind of secret they were talking about, but something told me that I didn't want to know. Oh well.

* * *

><p><strong>I think you're a general offence and everyone should hit you<strong>

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><p>I've heard rumours of pickpocketing going about the neighbourhood recently, and my first thought was to be concerned about my mother. She would be <em>so<em> upset if her wallet got stolen while she was marketing. Hence, I decided to follow her today. Haru had requested (begged) me to let her play with Lambo and I-Pin today, so I wasn't quite concerned about them. Haru would take good care of them, after all.

Hence, on that Saturday morning, my mother, Reborn, Bianchi, and I set out to the marketplace. I had requested some help from Bianchi when I had found out about the pickpocketing incidents and she had agreed without much hesitation.

"_It's good that you want to protect mama. It is a man's job to protect a woman, after all," she told me. I frowned at her. _

"_I don't believe so. In my opinion, women are quite capable when they're by themselves. In fact, it's the _men_ they need protecting from," I retorted. Bianchi stared at me for a while with an unreadable look and I fidgeted. "Well, that's my opinion anyway. The reason I want to protect my mum is because she's precious to me; not because she is a woman. I'd do the same for my dad, to be honest." _

_Bianchi continued staring at me for another few uncomfortable minutes before finally turning away. We never really resumed the conversation, but throughout the day, I could sense her giving me strange, contemplative looks. Was it really so strange? Was the society in Italy really that different? _

Mother and I chatted with one another as we walked along the streets, when I suddenly sensed an unpleasant presence. I turned slightly to lock eyes with Bianchi and she gave me a nod before flipping her long pink hair with her right hand. It hit a shady looking guy in a hoodie and he fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

"Oh dear!" I said in mock surprise as I knelt down in front of him. I made sure I was looking at him in the eyes before I continued speaking. "It's not very nice to steal things, mister!" I smiled brightly, but sharply, making the man in front of me shiver.

"Wh-what do you mean?" he stuttered out. I tilted my head to the side and narrowed my eyes, smile still fixed on my face.

"Oh, I'm _sure_ you know what I mean. Now, please don't do this again, mister, or it'll be time-out for you." My tone was still cheerful and light, but my eyes conveyed a different story. I didn't bother to elaborate my words, allowing the man's mind to come up with his own horrifying versions of what 'time-out' was, and merely stood up and walked back to my mother. At her questioning look I merely shook my head and she nodded hers. We then continued walking forward, uncaring of the petrified man on the ground.

Reborn jumped on my head, facing my mother. "Does this happen often?" he asked her. My mother turned to him, a contemplative look on her face.

"Pickpockets don't target me often, but when they do, Tsu-kun always intercepts them. He normally does this to help other people, though." Reborn and Bianchi blinked at her words.

"You knew he was a pickpocket?" Bianchi asked, slight amazement in her tone. I was the one who answered her.

"Of course mum knew he was a pickpocket! She's the one who taught me how to spot them!" I said proudly. Mother once told me that it was a skill father taught her, so that she could protect herself. She didn't practice it much, though, until I was six and accompanying her one day. I noticed someone pickpocket her and tried to chase after him. Of course, I failed quite spectacularly and hurt myself. It wasn't anything too serious, but mother seemed to change a little that day, becoming more aware of everything around her, and a little more protective of me.

"I see…" Reborn hummed and fell silent.

"Ah yes!" I turned to Bianchi. "Could you teach me some of that special cooking of yours? Also the costume making. I thought the sea urchin chestnut thing you made for Reborn was really cool. Is there any chance…" Bianchi and I fell into a comfortable discussion of the best ways to make poison out of everyday items. Mother didn't seem the least bit bothered about my conversation, since I had already expressed interests in many strange things ever since I was (physically) a child. She was fine with anything I did, as long as I was happy and didn't harm myself. My mother's style of parenting wasn't really very good for a normal kid, but it worked fine for me, so I didn't complain.

I sidestepped a man carrying a huge vase, not even brushing against him, when the vase dropped to the ground. I jumped back, away from the shattered pieces, and stared at them in shock. What the hell?

"Hey! That cost a few million dollars!" the men yelled at me. I shrunk back in slight apprehension.

"Um. I didn't even touch you," I tried to defend myself. The man didn't seem to want to listen to me and carried on ranting about paying back the cost of the vase. I took a deep breath and decided to speak once more. "I didn't even touch you, mister. There is no way that I caused the vase to drop," I said in a firm tone of voice. The man narrowed his beady eyes and raised his hand, as if he wanted to hit me. I tensed up, getting ready to step back, when a gloved hand caught the man's arm.

"My, my. Hitting a child? How crude." There was an amused smile on his face, but purple eyes were cold as a blizzard. Those purple eyes flickered to my face and warmed up considerably. "Good morning Tsunayoshi-kun. Fancy meeting you here."

I gave him a little wave. "Hi, Byakuran-san." My eyes flickered to the auburn haired boy beside him. "Hi Irie-kun."

"Sawada-kun." His eyes flickered to the man and flashed with annoyance before it focused back onto me. "Are you alright?"

"Hm? Yeah, I am. Oh." I turned back to my mother who was waiting patiently for me to be done socializing. "Mum, this is Irie Shouichi. Irie-kun, this is my mother. Also, this is Bianchi and Reborn." Irie greeted all three of them politely. My mother smiled.

"I'm glad to see that Tsu-kun has such nice friends. Would the both of you come over for tea? I would be glad to get to know the both of you more," my mother invited. Irie nodded and turned to Byakuran to ask him if he would accept the invitation as well. Byakuran paused in his talk with the man and smiled brightly, nodding as well. He gave one last look to the pale, shaking man, and walked towards us.

"Good morning, Sawada-san. It's nice to see you again," he greeted with a close-eyed smile. I could feel that Reborn and Bianchi didn't like him much, and were already on guard. I, on the other hand, didn't sense much hostile intent, so I guess he was playing nice for now. I doubt he'll try to kill me with my mother here too.

"Oh hello, Byakuran-kun! Are you shopping as well?"

I tuned out their conversation as we walked back home. Mother said that she talked to Byakuran before, and he never harmed her when she was alone. Why would he harm her now? We were safe, probably. Now, I just had to pay attention and intercept if…

"Byakuran-kun, what do you think of taking Tsu-kun as your–"

"Hey mum," I quickly cut into their conversation. "What are we having for dinner? Can I help?"

"Oh, we'll be having…" I gave a sigh of relief. Crisis adverted. Byakuran raised his eyebrow and I refused to meet his eyes. He chuckled and turned back to the front, humming a strange tune. I really hope that he wasn't aware of what my mother was going to say. I was sure that I'd never live through the embarrassment.

The doorbell rang in the middle of tea. Mother made to stand up to get the door, but I beat her to it. Opening the door, I saw a well-dressed man carrying a suitcase and wearing a plastic smile. I carefully kept a grimace off my face. Ugh, door-to-door salesmen. Don't get me wrong, I had nothing against them. It's just that I couldn't really stand how pushy they were…

"Hello!" he smiled brightly, "I'm selling teaching materials that will highly boost your grades. Is your mother or father home right now?" His face seemed a little familiar and I got a bad vibe from him. Something in me told me that I shouldn't listen to him, that I shouldn't even let him into the house.

I dug in my pocket for something and stretched out my arm, dropping a sweet onto the palm of the man's hand. "That's a very nice costume," I told him in a total deadpan. "A bit early for Halloween though. If you'll excuse me…" I turned around, ready to shut the door, when my mother came up behind me.

"Who's this, Tsu-kun?" she asked. I tried to gesture something to her, but she didn't get the message. She then turned to him. "Why don't you come in and talk?" _Dammit_, mum. This was the very thing I was trying to avoid!

He walked into the house and I sighed. I just needed to find a way to get him out.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," the man stuck to his plastic smile. "I'm selling some teaching materials for your son."

"Oh, no thank you. We've already got a home tutor!"

"Heh," the man smirked, and I instantly recognized his face. "Everyone becomes satisfied once they have a home tutor, but what can you expect–"

"_You!_" I pointed at the man. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me. I glared at him. "I recognize you! You're that guy who was in cahoots with that pickpocket!" It was strange that I remembered that incident from eight years ago. A man with light brown hair pickpocketing my mother, a bald man who tried to hold me back, and that black haired man that pushed me in the path of an oncoming bicycle to stop me. It was the first time I failed in protecting my mother. Like _hell_ I'd let him take advantage of my mother a second time.

The black haired man started sweating a little, and his eyes flickered away from mine. "That's not a very nice joke to make," he managed to say. His voice wavered a little. I glanced back to my mother to see whether she recognized the man and, judging from the strange smile on her face, she did.

"I'm not joking. And really, I want you to leave. Please," I forced out through gritted teeth.

"Ma'am, your son is really…" he trailed off upon seeing the look on my mother's face. A second passed and he seemed to regain the courage to appeal to my mother again. As he opened his mouth to speak, I stepped in between my mother and him.

"Mister, if you don't leave this very moment, I'll rip off your arm and shove it up your arse. Then, I'll reach down your throat and shake your hand," I said in a monotone. The man swallowed nervously and began to shake. I took a step forward and he shrieked, stumbling backwards and out of the door. I gave an annoyed sound as I shut the door and locked it. When I turned around, everyone was staring at me with various shades of incredulity. Except for my mother, of course. She was looking at me like I scored a hundred marks on an exam paper.

Mother moved towards me and patted my head. "Isn't Tsu-kun so cute?" she asked. Irie nodded slowly, as if he was in shock, while the other three didn't move at all. Mother turned back to me and tilted her head to one side. "Ah, but wouldn't it be better to pull his arm out instead of shake it?" I blinked and shrugged.

"True."

The both of us giggled, totally unaware of the disbelieving thoughts of the four other people in the house.

* * *

><p><strong>T<strong>**aking a nap is always so risky, like when will I wake up?**

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><p>When I came home from a long day at school, there was a crowd of men in black suits milling in front of my house. At this point, I was already too tired to care and merely continued walking forward to get back home. Of course, I was stopped by one of the men in the black suits. I bit back a sigh.<p>

"You shall not pass. Only members of the Sawada family can pass through right now," he told me. I stared up at him with tired eyes.

"I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi."

At my words, all the men's attitudes changed and they quickly fell into two neat rows, allowing me to pass through the middle. I leisurely made my way into the house, up the stairs, and into my room, skilfully ignoring all the foreign men in the house. As I opened the door, Reborn was the first one who greeted me.

"We've been waiting for you, Tsuna," he said. Wow, if that wasn't ominous, I don't know what was. Also, why was there a large leather roller chair in my room?

"Yo, Vongola Decimo," the person sitting in the chair said. His back was facing me and I couldn't help but think about how rude he was. "I've travelled from afar to pay you a visit. I'm…" He paused and slowly spun around in his roller chair.

"Cavallone Family's tenth boss, Dino," he announced dramatically. Upon seeing his face, I took a step back. My breath caught in my throat and my heart rate sped up. I brought a hand up to my face and covered my mouth and nose. I could feel that I was trembling badly, and I couldn't breathe.

"No," I muttered to myself. "No, it's not him. It can't be him." My trembling got worse and I fell to my knees. I heard Dino cry out in alarm, and Reborn move beside me, talking to me. I couldn't make out what he was saying. I couldn't hear anything.

"It can't be him. He's dead. He can't be dead." I knew there was no way Dino could be him. My eyes flickered back to Dino's face, but all I saw was my brother. I closed my eyes and the world around me faded away into nothingness.

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong>

_Technically_, Dino's in this chapter as well. Technically. Also, is it Chiavarone or Cavallone? I guess it's Cavallone, since cavallo means "horse" in Italian. Don't worry, Dino's not tsuna's younger brother. He doesn't even look exactly like him. All will be revealed next chapter. (If tsuna's muttering doesn't make sense to you, it's fine. Don't bother about it.)

I was literally just staring at I-Pin's words in the manga, trying to make sense of it, when I realised it was just cursive Chinese (also known as grass script. Which is pretty weird imo). It still is pretty hard to read, though. Like. Extremely hard. (They're freakin' _squiggles_ for goodness' sake.)

So. I may or may not have written a new KHR story. An All27 one, about Tsuna as a magical boy. Um. So that may be the reason I'm not updating so much. (Also that and school work ughhhh academic writing)

(Shameless self-promoting: Please read my new story, Ragazzo Magico, Vongola Decimo! Thank you~)

((also I'd be very happy if you left a review. It motivates me to write even more, haha ah…))

**Reviews **

**Laevo** I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed this story! Sorry, but I won't really make it blatantly All27. There _will_ be hints, but they can be taken as platonic.

**Quotes**

"My feelings are too loud for words and too shy for the world." ― Dejan Stojanovic

"**Diet ideas:** Eat whatever you want, and if anyone tries to lecture you about your weight, eat them too." – someone on tumblr whose account was deactivated. I can't find the source. Will update when I do.

"Me think'st thou art a general offence and every many should beat thee." – William Shakespeare

"I break a dining room table over his head. Then I rip off his arm, and I shove it where the sun don't shine. Then I reach down his throat and shake his hand." – Rosa Diaz, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

"taking a nap is always so risky like when will I wake up? in thirty minutes? in 2 hours? in 7 years? no one can be sure" – emmysaurus on tumblr


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

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><p><strong>People who are attractive, have a great sense of humor and act genuinely down to earth are our enemies and must be eliminated for they wield far too much power<strong>

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><p>(<em>"I want to cut my hair like that," my brother stated, pointing to a blond character in that show he liked so much. What was that guy called again? I knew it had something to do with dinosaurs. <em>

"_Huh." I squinted my eyes at the picture. "Will the school even allow that?" My brother deflated. _

"_Oh right. I forgot about that. Maybe after I graduate."_)

I opened my eyes to see that Dino was sitting by the side of my bed, fidgeting nervously while rapidly talking in Italian into his phone. Now that I had a clearer mind, I was able to tell that Dino looking nothing like my brother, save the style of his hair. The shape of his eyes was different, the curve of his face, the bridge of his nose… I wasn't quite sure how I could've mistaken Dino for my brother when he clearly looked so different.

A stab of disappointment hit my heart, followed by a strong wave of disgust. How could I be disappointed that my brother wasn't here? It meant that he was still alive and well. I shouldn't want my brother to be here! What kind of older sibling was I, to want my brother to be dead?

How utterly sickening.

Dino's brown eyes flickered down to me and widened. He then muttered some Italian words into his phone before putting it down and focusing his attention on me. He gave a sheepish grin. "Hey, sorry for startling you like that. Neither Reborn or I knew that you would react so badly to having a stranger in your room," he apologised. I blinked. They thought I passed out because I saw someone I didn't know in my room? Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I didn't say anything, only nodding and taking the excuse.

"So, Callavone-san, what brings you here?" I asked, slowly sitting up in my bed. Dino frowned.

"Call me Dino. And I'm here because–"

"Dino is your senior apprentice," Reborn spoke up, and I was suddenly aware that he was standing at the foot of the bed. When did he get there?

Unprepared for Reborn's abrupt arrival, Dino jumped and fell out of his chair with a loud and painful sound. I winced in sympathy. I knew exactly how painful it was to bash your entire body onto the cold hard floor of my room. I slid off my bed, careful not to touch or affect Reborn in any way, and stood in front of Dino, sticking out my hand and offering to help him off the ground. He took the offer and gave me a grateful smile. I paused. Oh. So that's why he has so many fan girls.

I inwardly shook myself to regain my footing on reality. "So, you've come here to meet me for…?"

Dino blinked. "Oh right, I came here to see my junior!" he said excitedly. I hummed in reply, waiting for him to continue speaking. He scratched the back of his head, seemingly hesitant to say anything else.

"Well… you…" He paused for a moment. "The way you present yourself is a bit…" He made a few gestures. I smiled slightly, amused.

"Terribly unfitting for a Mafia boss?" I offered. Dino nodded slowly. I let out my laughter. "Well, I know what you're thinking. I'm not ambitious, there's no sense of anticipation, I look unlucky, I don't have a 'boss' aura, and my disposition to be a boss is pretty much below zero. All in all, I'm no good, right?"

"…" I seem to have made him speechless. Good. He shouldn't have barged into my room uninvited. Seeing that he wasn't going to answer me anytime soon, I turned to look at Reborn.

"So, you've taught Dino-san before?" I questioned. Reborn nodded.

"I was teaching Dino to be a Mafia boss before I was called here. You're taking this pretty well, Baka-Tsuna," he commented.

"Thanks. Well. Sorry to disappoint but I have absolutely zero percent interest in being a Mafia boss," I said amiably. I was probably acting too passive in the company of a Mafia boss but I didn't get a bad feeling from him so he should be fine. Besides, Reborn… taught… him…

…

Dino's a dangerous guy. I cannot underestimate him.

"Woah, it's exactly as Reborn said!" Dino exclaimed, "You were exactly like how I used to be!"

Is that a compliment or…?

"In the beginning…" Dino turned his head to stare out of the window solemnly, "I didn't want to be a Mafia boss either. Decent guys don't seek to join the Mafia in the first place, after all."

"…"

He then turned back to me with a smile on his face. "Well, from this, I can tell that you're a trustworthy guy."

"… thanks. I'm still not going to be a Mafia boss, though," I sighed. Seriously, can't a guy get a peaceful life around here?

"If you keep refusing…" Dino's tone turned dark and he slipped his hand into his jacket, about to pull something out. I stiffened up, eyes narrowing. Was this guy really going to pull out a gun in my room?

There was a blur of green as Dino quickly pulled something out from his jacket and I readied to dodge. My brain stalled when I realised a turtle was standing in front of me.

"He'll bite you!" Dino continued his previous sentence cheerfully. I stared at the turtle blankly, mind obviously not processing the situation. You'd think that with all I've been through, I'd be used to this kind of anticlimactic bullshit happening. Apparently, that was not the case. How unfortunate.

I raised a finger to tilt the turtle away from my face. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind," I replied, humouring him. I wasn't quite sure exactly what kind of damage a turtle could cause, but I doubt it would be too much, especially since it was such a little thing. Geese on the other hand…

"He's called Enzo," Dino told me, looking fondly at the turtle. I looked at the turtle and smiled.

"Hello Enzo!" I greeted the turtle, "It's nice to meet you. Please don't bite me." Dino laughed at my words and opened his mouth, about to say something, when…

"Gyahaha!" I heard Lambo's loud voice, followed by the pitter-patter of children's footsteps. I whirled around just in time to catch Lambo as he tripped and fell. However, I wasn't prepared for the grenades he was holding to fly out of his hands and towards the open window. Thank god they still had their safety on.

A soft tinkle made me look down on the floor to see two metal pins. My eyes widened.

"Dino-san! The grenades…!"

Dino nodded at me and threw himself out of the window. I had to consciously supress my scream. Was he trying to kill himself?!

I ran to the window and watched in open mouthed amazement as he used a whip – and where did he get _that_ from? – to fling the grenades away.

"… Cool…" Holy shit, _wow_.

"Now do you understand? A Mafia boss will risk his life for his family," Reborn stated. I nodded in agreement.

"He's a good boss."

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><p>"… Dino-san."<p>

"Yes, Tsuna?"

"Do you need a fork and spoon? I can understand if you aren't used to eating with chopsticks," I said, eyeing the mess of food he made on the table. Dino blinked and looked down at the table, blushing. It seems that he was unaware of the mess he was making.

"A-ah, yeah. Thanks. It's in the kitchen right? I can get it myself!" He stood up from the table and made to move towards the kitchen. I shook my head, standing up as well.

"No, you're our guest. Let me–!" My breath was knocked out of me as Dino tripped on the leg of the table and fell on top of me. My head hit against the hard kitchen ground and I quickly prayed that I didn't get a concussion. I could feel his hot breath against me neck as he groaned in pain. I felt incredibly uncomfortable with his entire body weighing down on mine. Dino shifted a little and placed his hands on either sides of my head to push himself up onto all fours. I closed my eyes and turned my head to face the door since I found it incredibly awkward to look at Dino at the moment. I didn't even wantto know the picture we made.

Of course, this was the exact moment my mother decided to walk in.

"…"

"…"

"Mum, I–"

She walked into the room to pick Reborn, Lambo, and I-Pin up and walked out. Before she left, she gave me a meaningful look and a wink, and then walked away. I didn't bother to hold in my loud sigh of annoyance. How was I going to explain this to her?

"Dino-san. Please get off of me."

"Yes! Of course!" he said, a bit flustered. He face was slightly flushed as he quickly stood up. I sat up as well, rubbing the back of my head to ease the pain.

And then I heard my mother's scream from upstairs.

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><p>"So certain turtles can expand if given water, there's actually a person who can unconsciously switch between clumsy and cool in a second, and the bathroom upstairs is destroyed." If I sounded slightly hysterical, it was because I was. "Right, I must still be asleep."<p>

"I'm really sorry, Tsuna…"

Something hit me on the head. "You're not dreaming, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn stated. "Dreams don't hurt. Would you like me to show you?"

"No, no! I'm fine!"

I could only hope tomorrow would be better.

* * *

><p>Dino is really loved by his men, even a totally oblivious person could tell that. It's for a good reason, too. If I were working under him, I'd probably be as devoted to him as well. Still…<p>

"I was just taking a stroll and ended up here."

"From the hotel in front of the train station?!"

… they really needed better excuses. Who in the world would believe in that? In the first place, what intelligent person would use such an excuse? Everyone knows it takes at least half an hour to get from the train station to our house.

"Good morning tenth!" Hayato's cheerful voice called out from nearby. I turned around to face him as he said, "I woke up too early so I was wandering around and ended up here!"

"…" I turned my head to the side. "Why."

"Oh, you're the smoking bomb brat! It's our first time meeting, isn't it?" Dino greeted Hayato. I made an annoyed sound and when I spoke, it was deceptively pleasant.

"I'd appreciate if you didn't call my friends brats, Dino-san. It's not very nice." I smiled at him and he paled a little, refusing to make eye contact with me.

"Y-yeah, sorry…" he laughed awkwardly, bringing a hand up to scratch the back of his head. Immediately, Hayato's eyes flickered to the tattoos on Dino's arm and his expression darkened. However, before he could comment on anything, Takeshi came throwing his arms over our shoulders and nearly scaring me into an early grave. His brown eye flickered to Dino's figure for a moment and something flashed through them. Unfortunately, it was gone before I could identify it. Takeshi then turned back to Hayato and me with a large grin on his face.

"If we don't go now, we'll be late for school," he stated and started dragging us away.

* * *

><p>"Wah! I didn't know that guy was so powerful!" Takeshi exclaimed. Hayato had been telling us about Dino's Family. It wasn't anything I hadn't already figured out, though, so there was no visible change in my expression.<p>

"I don't like him," Hayato stated. I jerked in surprise and turned to him inquisitively. "Anyone older than me is an enemy," he explained in a terrifyingly dangerous. I blinked and nodded, looking back to the front and making sure he doesn't see the slightly petrified look I had on my face.

_Technically, I'm older than him, aren't I…?_

Suddenly, an expensive-looking black car pulled up beside us and a rope shot out of it, winding around me. I froze up for a second, and that precious second allowed my kidnapper to pull me into the car. With a loud roar, the car sped away. I struggled with my binds, desperately trying to get back to my friends. My kidnapper moved a bit closer to me and I automatically jerked my head up and head-butted him in the face. I probably should have thought a bit more about my actions before actually carrying them out as a sharp pain soon reverberated through my head and tears started welling up in my eyes.

I glared at my capturer through my haze of pain, gritting my teeth. My face was probably flushed from anger and, with tears in my eyes, I probably didn't make a very threatening picture. When I vision focused, I blinked and my eyes widened in shock.

"D-Dino-san?!"

* * *

><p>"Hayato! Takeshi!" I was basically yelling when we finally got to the Momokyokai yakuza base. Upon hearing from Reborn that he sent them there, I just rushed off without listening to anything else. What was Reborn <em>thinking<em>? How could he send two innocent boys to some yakuza base, just like that? The Momokyokai wasn't a weak group of yakuza; nearly everyone in the neighbourhood knew who they were. Before Hibari-senpai had gained monopoly of Namimori, the Momokyokai had been one of the ruling factions in town.

I slowed down a little. _Hibari-senpai had been able to defeat them without _any_ problems, though…_

Dino managed to catch up to me when I opened the door to the yakuza base.

"…"

"…"

"Tsuna!"

"Tenth!"

I sighed as I saw the utter wreckage and the multiple unconscious bodies around them.

I have mixed feelings about this.

* * *

><p>"I'm impressed!" We were back in my room again. Dino was smiling at Takeshi and Hayato. "You guys are strong; I can leave Tsuna in your care." Neither he nor Reborn told them that it was actually them that kidnapped me and not the yakuza. Naturally, I didn't say anything either. I would like to enjoy what little peace I had for a little while longer.<p>

"Don't worry!" Takeshi smiled brightly. "We'll take _very good_ care of him!"

"Yeah, we'll be with Tenth, twenty-four seven," Hayato added. I stiffened up and slowly turned to look at my friends. I could almost see a strange, dark aura surround them and I shuddered, inwardly sobbing about my loss of freedom.

The protective bodyguards have resumed their job.

* * *

><p><strong>*throws apple into hospital* *doctors hiss and scurry away from it*<strong>

* * *

><p>It was funny how I still managed to get hurt even though I had two bodyguards basically following me around. Stalking me. It was as if the universe hated me, or at least needed me to get hurt so that certain things could run smoothly. Kind of like I was a character in a story, and I had to get hurt in order to be able to meet with someone I usually wouldn't meet.<p>

… Yeah, I won't look into this matter.

If you wanted to know how I got hurt… well…

"_I thought that I could pass down my whip-handling skills to my cute little… brother!" _

"_Why did you hesitate before saying… well anyway, that isn't the problem. Why would I need to learn how to handle a whip?" _

"_Why are you pouring water on Enzo." _

"_Dino, don't go near there! There's a–" splash! "–well…"_

I don't want to talk about it.

But all in all, I just had a broken leg. It could be a lot worse, I suppose.

I was sharing the room with three other guys. I thought they were nice people at first, but I couldn't have been further from the truth. Either way, I wasn't letting them boss me around.

"Oi, didn't you hear me?" one of them shouted, "I asked you to go buy drinks for all of us!"

I smiled brightly. Plastically. "Yes, I heard you," I said matter-of-factly, and ended the conversation there. I hope I get discharged soon. Either that or I hope something would happen to mysteriously change the mindset of my roommates.

There was a knock on the door and Dino walked in, greeting me cheerfully. Along with ten of his men, dressed sharply in suits. I immediately dropped the smile on my face. "Dino-san. Please leave your men outside. You are disturbing the patients!" I scolded. Dino looked around, unashamed.

"Really? Well, whatever," he shrugged. I tried not to make eye contact with any of Dino's men or my roommates. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. "Tsuna, the hospital is the place people would choose if they wanted to kill a boss, especially someone as cute and harmless as you. I mean." He blushed slightly, but carried on talking. I wasn't listening to him, just staring at the gun in mortification.

"… so here's my trusty gun. So you can be safe," he finished looking at me expectantly.

"…" I closed my eyes and waited for Nurse Fujioka to come.

* * *

><p>"Sawada-kun, we can't play favourites in the hospital. Please don't bring visitors who will scare away other patients!" Fujioka scolded me. I looked down at the floor.<p>

"Sorry…"

She sighed and patted me on the head. I actually met her a few times when I was younger, and I was basically the most well-behaved kid in the children's ward. Hence, she grew somewhat fond of me. I was secretly glad for that; who knew how she would be treating me now if she disliked me?

"Well, I know you can't control your… friends, Sawada-kun. But could you at least try?"

"Yeah. I'll try my best."

* * *

><p>"Sawada-kun…" Fujioka's eye twitched as she met with all my friends, from the oddly-dressed Haru and Kyoko, to the badly injured Hayato. She glanced at me sympathetically as she took in my totally exhausted face.<p>

And then the door broke down, and a swarm of nurses flooded in, fawning over my friends. I watched as Fujioka buried her face in her hands and sighed.

_I am so sorry…_

* * *

><p>"I am so sorry…" I expressed my thoughts to Fujioka. She just sighed as she led me down the hall.<p>

"If it were up to me, you'd be out of the hospital by now. I'm sure you don't want to stay here any longer, do you?" she asked. I nodded. It was too bad that the doctor didn't give me the permission to leave the hospital.

"Well, at the special request of a… patient… you'll be sharing a room with him." She stopped outside of the door and gave me a pitying look. I had a bad feeling.

"U-uh… what do you mean by…?"

"I wish you the best of luck, Sawada-kun," Fujioka cut me off and hurriedly walked away. Yeah, a _very_ bad feeling.

Hesitantly, reluctantly, I opened the door to the room. And froze.

_Hibari-senpai!_

The terrifying prefect was sitting on the edge of his bed, reading a book. Upon hearing the door open, he glanced up and gave me a wicked, _wicked_ smirk. "Hello, little herbivore."

He was wearing a set of black pyjamas, and actually seemed a little pale. I felt faint concern within me and slowly limped into the room. "Hibari-senpai, why are you here? Are you hurt?" I settled myself down on the other bed in the room.

"I just caught a little cold," he told me. I nodded slowly. Huh, so Hibari-senpai is the type to take care of his health. That's surprising. I was under the impression that he would be the difficult kind that wouldn't enter the hospital even if he were in critical condition and at death's doorstep. It was nice to see that at least _one person_ I knew took good care of his health.

"You seem happy," Hibari-senpai stated. I smiled at him.

"Of course I am. You're taking good care of yourself."

Hibari-senpai was staring at me as if I was some strange exotic animal. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what the matter was. I flinched when Hibari-senpai suddenly stood up and stalked towards me. I tried to back away but, being on a bed, it was pretty hard to do so.

I felt like crying when Hibari-senpai got into my bed, pushing me down at the same time since the bed was pretty small. My small figure was pinned under his and I became as still as a statue. "Hieee! Hi-Hibari-senpai, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting ready to sleep."

"But why on my bed?!"

"This is my bed as well. You're just sitting on it. I'm already very generous; I'm sharing it with you."

_But I don't want to share it with you!_

The blood was rapidly draining from my face as I grew more and more aware of the predicament I was in. Half of Hibari-senpai's body was lying on mine, and one of his arm was thrown carelessly over me. It was like I was a giant teddy bear.

"What's wrong with the other bed?" I asked in a final bid for freedom. Hibari-senpai sighed, irritated.

"The other bed has bloodstains. It's unhygienic. Like the little herbivore said, I'm taking good care of myself." His grey eyes were focused on me and his lips curled into a smug smirk. I was torn between passing out and hitting him. How dare he use my own words against me? And in the wrong context, too!

"W-why are there bloodstains? Didn't you say you had a cold?" I shifted a little in an attempt to see his bed and he tightened his grip on me, almost cutting off my air supply.

"I was playing a game just now with my roommates, but they were too weak." He sounded disappointed. I really didn't want to know what kind of game caused bloodstains. Hibari-senpai's breathing began to even out and I felt like dying.

_Did he just fall asleep on me?!_

This was going to be a _long_ hospital stay.

* * *

><p>"You guys are the worst." That was how I greeted Dino, Hayato and Takeshi when I reunited with them. After all, it was ultimately due to them that I ended up having to share a room with Hibari-senpai. As I expected, the three of them flinched at my words.<p>

"W-what do you mean, tenth?" Hayato asked desperately.

"I'm sure he's just joking, right Tsuna? Tsuna…?" Takeshi laughed nervously.

"How is it my fault, Tsuna?" Dino whined. I ignored them and kept walking. They trailed after me like puppies.

Though I didn't do so often, I was still perfectly capable of holding a grudge.

* * *

><p><strong>Omake – 5927, 1827, G27 probably (crack)<strong>

* * *

><p><em>About this… well… it's based on the game Heart no Kuni no Alice, with a Tsuna that isn't my Tsuna.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>The White Rabbit<strong>

* * *

><p>This is all just a dream.<p>

Gokudera stood in front of Tsuna, staring at him with glittery, worshipping eyes. A pair of white rabbit ears sat on top of his head, and they twitched occasionally. What's more, he was dressed in a chequered red waistcoat and pants. Hands covered with white gloves held a gold pocket watch that kept ticking. This… definitely wasn't what Gokudera would wear. At all.

"Jyuudaime! It's time to go, or we'll be late!"

Yes, this was _definitely_ _just a dream_.

"Jyuudaime, where are you going?"

Tsuna had turned his back on Gokudera, and was walking towards the closest tree in order to deal himself bodily damage. If he were to experience pain, he would wake up, right?

"I guess it can't be helped," Gokudera sighed and picked Tsuna up, bridal style. Tsuna flushed red.

"HIEE! Gokudera-kun, what are you DOING?!" He flailed around. Gokudera didn't seem affected by Tsuna's violent movements. He also didn't answer Tsuna at all, just running towards a large hole… in the ground… Blood drained out of Tsuna's face and he started sweating. "Gokudera-kun, you can't possibly plan to…"

He did.

"HIEEEEEEE!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Please forgive my impudence, Jyuudaime!" <em>

"…" The medicine Gokudera gave him was bitter. He could never forget the taste. He also could never forget how Gokudera forced him to drink it.

A shudder ran up his spine as he continued to stare in the floor in a horrified daze. He was so distracted that he didn't even care that a fight was taking place right in front of him. Shortly after Gokudera had forced the medicine down his throat, someone else had shown up. Someone with long silver hair and an extremely loud voice, who apparently owned the tower (apparently it was called the Clock Tower. Tsuna had an idea why, seeing that it looked like a giant clock) Gokudera and Tsuna were standing on.

He did not take well to trespassers.

"VOIIIIIII! GET THE HELL OFF MY TERRITORY!"

This… was seriously one messed up dream. Tsuna wondered what it said about his state of mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Time<strong>

* * *

><p>"You're an Outsider," Squalo stated. Tsuna nodded, a smile frozen on his face.<p>

_I kind of gathered that, from the million times you yelled about it._

"You're not welcome here," Squalo said sullenly, glaring at Tsuna as if it were his fault that he was still there. "Go home."

"I want to go back too," Tsuna shot back.

"Then it's simple. Go back at once!"

"I don't know how!"

"VOIII! YOU JUST HAVE TO WANT TO GO BACK!"

Tsuna flinched, eyes fixed on the sword Squalo suddenly pulled out. "Hiiee! Okay, okay, I'll leave!" he cried.

"Good."

* * *

><p>Tsuna went into the town surrounding the Clock Tower, hoping that he could find a place to go. It was then that he noticed something terrifying.<p>

_The people here… have no faces! _

Tsuna immediately tried to find a way out of the town, and stumbled into the forest. After a while of walking, he found himself at the entrance of what seemed to be an Amusement Park. Someone in a black suit was standing in front of the gates, fiddling with something. The fedora on his head looked extremely familiar…

When Tsuna took a step closer, the man's head suddenly snapped up and sharp black eyes bored into terrified brown ones. Tsuna immediately froze up as all his alarms went on at once.

_This guy is dangerous…! _

"And who may you be?" the man asked. At his commanding tone, Tsuna couldn't help but stutter out his name. Upon hearing it, the man's expression changed into that of interest. "Ah, you're an Outsider," he noted. "My name is Reborn, and I am the owner of the Amusement Park."

_Re-Reborn?!_

Now that Tsuna noticed it, the man had a pair of curly sideburns that could belong to no one else but Reborn.

_Reborn, the owner of an Amusement Park…?_

Tsuna couldn't take it. He fainted.

* * *

><p><strong>The Caterpillar<strong>

* * *

><p>Tsuna couldn't help but find this weird. He was, quite literally, having a dream inside a dream.<p>

"Tsunayoshi-kun," a familiar voice called out from behind him. Tsuna blinked and turned around.

"Vongola Primo?!" he exclaimed. Out of all the people he knew, why was he dreaming of his predecessor?

Giotto frowned confusedly. "I apologise, Tsunayoshi-kun, but I have no idea who Vongola Primo is." He then smiled. "My name is Giotto, please call me that instead."

This was the most confusing dream Tsuna had ever had. "… Giotto," he relented. "Where am I? What kind of strange dream is this?"

"In this world, Tsunayoshi-kun, everyone will fall for you."

"…" Yeah, that sounded like a total utter nightmare.

Giotto floated closer to Tsuna and tilted the younger boy's head up to meet his gaze. "That includes me…"

Tsuna immediately threw himself back.

_I want to wake up already! Please, let me wake up!_

* * *

><p><strong>The Queen of Hearts<strong>

* * *

><p>Gokudera-kun led Tsuna to see the Queen of Hearts. To say that he was surprised would be an understatement.<p>

_Is that… Hibari-san?!_

Hibari Kyoya was dressed entirely in red, sitting on a large, regal throne, and was staring done at me with disinterest in his eyes.

"A-ah, hello…" Tsuna managed to force out.

"Hm? So the little animal is able to speak," Hibari stated. Tsuna flinched and was promptly scared back into silence. After another period of silence, Hibari spoke again. "What is your name, little animal?" he demanded.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi… your majesty."

"I am the Queen of Hearts," Hibari spat out the title as if it were something disgusting, "Hibari Kyoya."

"Hibari-sama…?" Tsuna tested the waters. At Hibari's sharp glare he flinched back.

"Kyoya," he replied. Tsuna's eye twitched. Surely he wasn't expecting him to…

"Kyoya-sama?"

"I will bite you to death."

"Hiee! Okay, Kyoya, Kyoya! I understand!" Tsuna shrieked. Hibari nodded and smiled smugly, acting like a spoiled child that got what he wanted.

"I like cute things," he stated suddenly, staring at Tsuna intensely. "Especially cute little animals."

"…"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note<strong>

The fight between what you truly want, and what society deems acceptable to want.

Please note how I didn't comment on the brother's hair colour being different or similar to Dino's. That is because, like I've said before, these things are up to the reader. Tsuna's past self could have had _pink_ hair, for all I know.

**So, there might be this misconception going around**. Well. The 'voices' in the brackets cannot be consciously heard by Tsuna. It's kind of like the angel devil thing, y'know? All in the subconscious. There are no actual voices in Tsuna's head.

I am very sorry for the wait. There is no excuse. (Basically, I had project work, tests and jobs. But you don't wanna hear about that.)

I'm not too sure what to write in the next chapter, so unless I find out what, it'll probably take a longer time to come.

((man oh man first time i'm updating not past midnight))

* * *

><p><strong>Omake Notes<strong>

It's just random scenes. Sorry.

If you don't know how the white rabbit (gokudera) forced alice (tsuna) to drink the medicine. Well. It's a really OOC thing so I'm not talking about it. (he put the medicine in his mouth and pushed it into tsuna's yo)

(for those who played the games) I know, Gokudera would be a _much better_ March Hare. But I really can't see him so devoted to anyone but Tsuna, and if he were the March Hare, he's have to serve the Hatter as well.

And I don't even know why I cast some people in some roles. (Especially Squalo but seriously what the hell am I thinking)

I was going to write more but I couldn't. I really couldn't.

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews <strong>

**Guest 9/7** I'll try my best!

**Guest 9/8 **Thank you! I tried to make my summary interesting, I'm happy you found it amusing!

* * *

><p><strong>Quotes <strong>

"people who are attractive, have a great sense of humor and act genuinely down to earth are our enemies and must be eliminated for they wield far too much power" – rhydonmyhardon on tumblr

"*throws apple into hospital* *doctors hiss and scurry away from it*" – legfruit on tumblr


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: **Brief allusions to Puella Magi Madoka Magica here. And I think Byakuran might be ooc I didn't mean it to turn out that way I swear

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>No one goes through life without eventually showing their insides to someone.<strong>

* * *

><p>I woke up bright and early, feeling extremely refreshed. It was the twenty-fifth of January and, for some reason, I felt a little apprehensive. Something in me was telling me to stay in bed today, or I might face something I might not want to face. I turned to the window near my bed, about to open it to get fresh air in, and nearly screamed my head off.<p>

Byakuran was outside my window. That, in itself, is a cause for alarm but it wasn't all. There were little white cherub-esque wings sprouting out of his back, and they were the things that were essentially keeping him in the air.

_Just what the hell _is_ he?_

When he saw me, his face brightened and he flew closer and closer. And through the wall, leaving a Byakuran-sized hole behind. I stared at it in despair.

"Ah, Tsunayoshi-kun, you're finally awake! I've been waiting forever!" he exclaimed. I blinked.

"What."

"Aren't we just like Romeo and Juliet? A tale of two teens, torn apart from each other by their families, but managing to meet in secret. This is similar to the famous balcony scene, no?" Byakuran smiled cheekily. I was not amused.

"You mean a tale of childish recklessness and impulse, in which an immature boy and girl commit suicide within three days of meeting one another?" I shot back, still pretty distressed about the wall. While we had the money, repairs were still rather costly and I would rather have saved the money up for something more important. Like hospital bills.

"How cold, Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran pouted. I sighed.

"Byakuran-san, not that you aren't welcome here–"

"Oh, are you telling me you want me in your bedroom?"

"–but it's seven in the morning and, really, what are you doing here?" I plowed on, disregarding his interjection. Byakuran smiled at me for a long, unnerving moment, before finally getting to the point.

"I've received intel that Rokudo Mukuro has escaped from prison," he told me, eyes serious. I unconsciously straightened up. Rokudo Mukuro, Rokudo Mukuro… Where have I heard his name before…?

_Pineapple._

"Pineapple?" Without my knowledge, the word slipped through my mouth. Immediately, I clamped my hands over it and glanced warily at Byakuran. He was staring at me with a confused expression frozen onto his face, before he suddenly burst into laughter.

"You really are an interesting one, Sawada Tsunayoshi. As much as I hate to say this, it is time for you to go to school. I heard from your tutor that it's Parent Participation day, after all." His laughter reverted back into his creepy close-eyed smile. I blinked. And then promptly tried to climb out of the window. Byakuran's eyes widened and he quickly wrapped his hands around my wrists to restrain me.

"What are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to get a concussion," I replied calmly. Byakuran stared at me. I believe that this was the second time I have seen him truly at a loss for words.

"But why are you doing this?" he finally managed to force out. I tilted my head to the side.

"Oh right. I can just go throw a ball and it'll come back to hit me in the head. Simple and not needing broken bones. Thanks for bringing me back to my senses, friend!" I try to break out of his grasp to try and see if I still have any sports equipment in my house, but Byakuran wasn't budging. Why was he so strong, anyway? What did he eat?

"Tsunayoshi-kun. What exactly are you trying to avoid today, so much so that you even consider injuring yourself?" He was frowning a little, as if he didn't understand something and didn't like it. I couldn't understand why he couldn't see it.

Why he couldn't see the upcoming horror.

Seeing that he was still waiting for an answer, I brushed off his hands, staring at him with haunted eyes.

"_Reborn_."

And then I promptly walked off to see if I was able to drown myself into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>"Mum, can I skip school today?" I stuck my head in the kitchen. Reborn wasn't anywhere in the house, so I suspected that he was already at school. Planning.<p>

My mother looked back at me, frowning. "It's Parent Participation day, Tsu-kun. It won't reflect well on you if you don't go! And school is a place of learning and fun!" I could tell that she was doing her best to be enthusiastic for my sake. I felt like a horrid, ungrateful child, but I pressed on. I could always skip school without her permission, but I never wanted to lie to her.

Not being the 'Tsu-kun' she thought I was, was already bad enough.

"I'm scared of going to school today. And besides, it's not like anyone's ever going to notice my presence, right? They probably don't even know I exist to begin with."

"How about learning?" My mother worried her bottom lip with her teeth. "The teacher will still be teaching today. Will you be okay with missing lessons?" There was a calculating look in her eye, though, that didn't quite match up to the rest of her worried appearance.

"I… I already know the material," I confessed. It felt a bit better to tell the truth to her. A triumphant smile that was almost, _almost_, a smirk flashed across her face but she quickly hid it behind a spaced out smile.

"Ah!" she sounded genuinely surprised. "Tsu-kun does? I had my suspicions but for Tsu-kun to actually tell me…" She put her hand on her hips in mock annoyance. "You'd better score better for the next paper! You _know_ I don't like it when you're not doing your best."

"I will, mum. But… is that a yes to skipping school?" I had to be sure. My mother dropped the act of annoyance and looked at me with an almost frightening intensity, as though she was staring straight into my soul.

"You really don't want to go to school? Not because it's boring or anything, but because you're scared? Will you feel better skipping school? You won't regret your decision?" she asked. I tried my best not to fidget.

"I won't regret it."

My mother gave a gentle smile. "I don't approve of it, but if it makes you feel better… And thanks for telling me." She turned around, going back to her recipe experimenting. "This won't be a regular occurrence, okay? You still have to go to school tomorrow!"

"Yes, mum!" I walked to the door, feeling like trash. My mother was really too nice to me, and I didn't deserve that. No doubt she thought that I was actually, genuinely afraid and too stressed to go to school when I was just…

"Enjoy your date with Byakuran-kun, Tsu-kun!"

I tripped on my way out of the door.

* * *

><p>"So, you're stuck with me. I bet this isn't how you envisioned your day going, Tsunayoshi-kun." Byakuran sounded way too happy with the situation. I was walking in front of him, leading the way to a nice café I knew in Namimori.<p>

"Well, kinda. To be honest, I actually wanted to spend the day with you, Byakuran-san," I confessed.

"Eh?" he sounded a little dumbstruck. I heard him stop walking, so I did too. I turned around to face him, looking at him in the eye with dead seriousness.

"Rokudo Mukuro," I said flatly.

"Rokudo Mukuro," he echoed.

"Yes. You said he broke out of prison. You wouldn't tell me about that unless you knew he was going to affect my life in some way or another. So," I tilted my head to the side, unaware of exactly how scary the expression on my face was. "Won't you tell me about him, Byakuran-san?"

There was a moment of silence and Byakuran started to laugh.

"Of course I will, Tsunayoshi-kun."

* * *

><p>We were sitting in a corner of the shop. It was probably a bad move on my part, to be alone with a dangerous guy like Byakuran, but I didn't really feel like he was a danger to me. It was really strange, but I trusted him. I had absolutely no reason to, of course, but I did. It was one of those incredibly strange leap of faith things people tended to do.<p>

I hope I made the right choice.

Byakuran took a sip of his hot chocolate. "What do you know about Rokudo Mukuro's contracts?" he asked. I thought about the word for a while, skimming through everything my brother had ever told me. I vaguely remember him forcing me to see a set of episodes about contracts. I don't remember a lot about those episodes, only that I came out of the experience a changed person.

"Does it… have something to do with souls?" I hedged. Byakuran's eyes gleamed in interest.

"Yes, you could say that." I paled.

"B-but it'll be fine if I don't consent, right? I mean, no matter how much he makes it sound like a great thing, as long as I don't agree, I won't get my soul ripped out of my body, right?" I tried to keep the fear from seeping into my voice.

"No. As long as he manages to draw blood with his trident, you're his," Byakuran corrected. I stared at him in horror.

"So you mean that there's absolutely _no choice_ in the matter? That _anyone_ could contract with him with or without their consent?" My voice was getting a little high-pitched. Well, more high-pitched than it already was.

"M-hmm," Byakuran hummed. "And he's targeting you."

"I-I…" the pitch of my voice raised dramatically into a squeak. "I don't want to be a magical boy!"

"…"

"…"

"Tsunayoshi. I think we're talking about two entirely different things here," Byakuran said dryly. I calmed down.

"Oh."

Another bout of silence plagued us as Byakura fixed me with a piercing stare. "Tell me, Tsunayoshi-kun. What do you think of Millefiore?"

"Millefiore?" Wow, Byakuran was asking weird questions today. "Isn't it your Family?" At least, that was the impression in my mind.

"Hoh?" Byakuran was smiling slightly now. "How about the Arcobaleno?"

"Arcobaleno… hmm… it has something to do with Reborn, right? Or something like that. I've heard it before but I can't remember much. Sorry," I laughed sheepishly. "But what does this have to do with Rokudo Mukuro, though?"

"Last question." Byakuran held up a finger, a gesture for me to wait. "What do you know of Kawahira and Checker Face?"

I stared at him blankly. "Sorry, who?" Byakuran stared at my face for a while longer before sighing.

"I was completely wrong about you, wasn't I?" he laughed, "You're very much different from him, but yet you're not. I don't understand you, Sawada Tsunayoshi, and it annoys me."

"Byakuran-san?"

"Then again, you make things interesting around here, so who am I to complain?"

"Byakuran-san, you're not making any sense!"

"No, Tsunayoshi-kun." He fixed me with another piercing stare and I was frozen in my place, suddenly feeling very exposed and vulnerable. "You're the one that's not making any sense. How is it that you possess knowledge of things you aren't supposed to know?"

"Not supposed to know…?" I realised that I wasn't breathing and consciously took in a breath of air.

"Yeap. I'm the heir to the _Gesso_ Family, not Millefiore. Millefiore won't be created unless… well, it probably won't be created in this world. And Reborn never told you anything about the Arcobaleno, didn't he?"

Oh my god. I made a mistake. I… let my guard down around him and I made a mistake. Now, everyone would know that I'm a fraud, a coward, a _liar_.

I forced myself to calm down. "How about Kawahira and Checker Face?" My voice was shaking slightly. "Was I supposed to know about them?"

"And if I say yes?" Byakuran was smirking, and his eyes were dangerously cold and unreadable. I fought back a shudder. I had the feeling that this guy was going to take me apart, piece by piece, in order to see what made me tick.

"Then…" I drew a shaky breath. "Then I'm sorry to disappoint but I really don't know who they are." My grip tightened on my own cup of hot chocolate and I refused to look up from it.

Silence settled between us and I chanced a glance up at him. Byakuran was busy pushing the marshmallows in his hot chocolate down, and was trying his best to keep them sunken. The scene was so anticlimactic, I almost fell out of my seat.

"Byakuran-san!"

"Say, Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran said suddenly. I blinked, somewhat off-kilter from his solemn tone.

"Yes, Byakuran-san?"

"If I killed you, and became 'nothing'… Regressing back to a state of no connections or attachments, someone just waiting to die… what would you do?"

I was silent. I didn't understand his question at all. If he killed me, there was nothing I could do, right? I mean, if I were already dead, I would have no corporeal body, and hence couldn't interact with him, or anybody else. What _could_ I do?

Byakuran smiled sadly to himself. "She doesn't remember me," he said quietly. "But that should be obvious, right? I mean, these memories aren't from this world… And the only other person that does remember me doesn't trust me…"

"Byakuran-san…"

Immediately, the mask fell back into place and his smile turned into a terrifyingly realistic fake one. "Ah, of course Tsunayoshi-kun wouldn't–"

I cut him off. "If I could, I'll stay by you. I'll be by your side for as long as it takes for you to become 'someone' again. I won't let you be alone because…" _Because I know how it feels to be alone as well. That crippling weight in your heart… But I still had my mother throughout it all. _

_In your scenario… you had no one._

Byakuran was staring at me with wide eyes. I smiled at him warmly. "You're my friend after all!" I laughed. He smiled back for a brief moment before quickly composing himself.

"Ah, but aren't friends supposed to tell each other their secrets~?" he replied in a cheerful tone. I immediately clammed up and looked back down at my hot chocolate.

"Will you tell me one day?"

I glanced up at him and gave him a melancholic smile.

"I see. Regardless, I'll find out eventually. Have a nice day, Sawada Tsunayoshi-kun." He downed the rest of his hot chocolate and walked off, patting me on the head on his way out.

I was left alone to stew on my thoughts in the corner of a busy café, the warmth of his hand lingering on me.

I started to smile but then realised he didn't really tell me anything substantial about Rokudo Mukuro.

_Dammit_.

* * *

><p><strong>Started from the bottom now we a little bit above the bottom<strong>

* * *

><p>I love children, and there are no exceptions to that rule. However, I cannot deny the fact that some of them are rather out of the ordinary.<p>

Firstly, you have your special kids – the ones that don't quite fit in, no matter how they try. Some don't even try at all, while some might lack the capability.

And then, you have your Special kids.

I met Fuuta during physical education. I considered him Special because, when I met him, he was _levitating off the ground_.

You don't see that every day, do you?

* * *

><p>"Ah! Tsuna-nii!" A brown haired boy had suddenly latched onto me and I stumbled backwards in slight shock. I had gone off to get a wayward soccer ball (and hopefully ditch physical education at the same time) when I had heard some mumbling from nearby. Morbidly curious, and well aware that if I were in a horror movie, I'd be taking the role of an unimportant, soon-to-be-dead extra, I went to check it out.<p>

And I saw a young boy with light brown hair and a pretty striped scarf floating. It wasn't just him floating, though. Gravity had somehow lost its grip on the items around him as well.

I stared at him for a rather long period of time, and gravity eventually affected him again and his feet lightly touched the ground. He reached into his coat and pulled out a large book which, in my point of view, shouldn't be able to fit into the coat in the first place. He then put the book down and started scratching something into it with a pencil that _definitely_ wasn't on his hand before.

"Um," I said, wanting to ask him just who he was and if he was lost. The boy flinched slightly at my voice and looked up at me with fearful eyes. The fear in his eyes quickly dissipated, though, upon his recognition of my face and he basically hurled himself at me. Which brings me to this situation.

"Tsuna-nii, Tsuna-nii! I finally get to meet you face to face! You're okay with my calling you Tsuna-nii, right?" the boy was speaking rapidly, and I could barely keep up.

"Um, yeah. You can call me Tsuna-nii if you want. What's your name?" I unconsciously started patting his head. He leaned into my touch, smiling.

"Fuuta de la Stella!" he chirped. I nodded slowly.

"Fuuta. That's a nice name," I hummed absentmindedly. There was a bad feeling building up within me. Something was going to happen soon, and it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Fuuta, I think you should go and hide somewhere," I said softly. Fuuta tensed up. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you. I promise." I wasn't quite sure where my confidence came from, but I couldn't go back on my word. Fuuta nodded and ran off to hide somewhere behind me. I took a deep breath and readied myself.

* * *

><p>"We can't leave you alone can we, Tsuna?" Takeshi was extremely exasperated. I laughed sheepishly.<p>

"If it makes you feel better, I actually considered getting help from the both of you. Would've, if there had been more time." I sighed as I leant back. Takeshi, Hayato, Fuuta, and I were sitting in my room. I was expecting Reborn to drop in any time now. "And I didn't get hurt, did I? I'm _fine_."

"_Tenth._"

I winced at Hayato's tone, guilt filling me. I slumped, looking down at my hands. "I'm sorry."

Fuuta crawled into my lap and hugged me. I smiled slightly and hugged him back. This was almost like how my brother would… comfort me…

I wasn't aware that I had frozen in place until Reborn kicked me in the head. Immediately, I came back to my senses and rubbed my forehead, wincing and whining. As per usual, Reborn didn't bother with me. Instead, he turned his attention to Fuuta.

"You're Raking Fuuta, aren't you?" he asked. Fuuta nodded. I stared at the both of them blankly.

"Ranking Fuuta?" I questioned. Hayato decided to elaborate for my sake.

"Yes, tenth! It is said that Ranking Fuuta can communicate with the Ranking Planet and obtain one hundred percent correct rankings of anyone in his field do ranking!"

_Ranking… planet…?_

I blinked, and suddenly the pieces fell into place. "So then, just now those people were after you for your rankings, weren't they? Information is deadly, after all. But for a mere kid to be burdened with such a responsibility…" I looked at the ground. "But why would you come to me of all people?"

Fuuta beamed at my question and took out his large book from his coat. Flipping to a random page, he pointed to the name in the first place ranking. "According to this, Vongola Decimo is first in being incapable of turning down a request from a child! Also, Vongola Decimo is last in ambition, so I don't have to worry about Tsuna-nii taking my book!"

My eye twitched. "Oh. I see. So you came to my house for sanctuary?" I hummed as I thought about the empty rooms in the Sawada household. Was it just me, or did the number of empty rooms multiply? I suspected that my mother was up to something but she was awfully good at playing dumb. There wasn't much space in my own room, and Lambo had already moved out to the room beside mine, along with I-Pin. Should Fuuta room with Lambo and I-Pin, or should he have a room of his own?

"Baka-Tsuna, why don't you help him?" Reborn asked. Well, with his tone, it was less of a request and more of a demand. Either way, it never crossed my mind to turn Fuuta down.

"Sure," I agreed readily. "Would you like your own room, or would you like to room with Lambo and I-Pin? Also, we need to go get a new bed for you… Or would you prefer a futon? Hmmm, mum would be pleased at another addition to our family… What." Everyone was staring at me.

"You agreed rather quickly. I was expecting more of a fight from you," Reborn said. I stared at him blankly.

"Why would I refuse a request from Fuuta? I don't understand."

Fuuta giggled. "Ah, the ranking was right, after all! Tsuna-nii is incapable of turning down request from children!"

"Since it's hard to come by a chance like this, why don't you get some rankings too, Tsuna?" Reborn suggested. I shrugged noncommittally, uncomfortable with taking advantage of Fuuta's abilities.

"For the ranking of people suitable to be tenth's right-hand man, what rank am I?" Hayato burst out suddenly. Fuuta closed his eyes and things started to float.

"Ranking of people to be Tsuna-nii's right-hand man… Nonexistent."

"What?!"

"Fuuta, could you please explain?" I asked, trying to keep Hayato from fainting. Fuuta was frowning.

"There is no one on the list… No, in fact, there is no list at all!" Fuuta gasped. I suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable and tried to direct the topic onto something that felt a bit safer.

"Um," I started. Thankfully, someone managed to divert the topic for me.

Haru had opened the door to my room, smiling brightly. "Tsuna-san! Can Haru play with Lambo and I-Pin today as well?" Upon catching sight of Fuuta, her eyes widened. "Hahi! Another child! Is this Tsuna-san's brother?"

"Ah, no. His name is Fuuta and he's staying at my house for an indefinite period of time," I explained to Haru. She took a seat next to Fuuta, eyes shining in the way they usually do when she caught sight of a cute child. I wonder if I looked like that too.

"Haru's number one charm point is her hair whorl, second is her dimples, third is her eyes…" Whoops, it seems like she stepped into Fuuta's ranking field. I didn't meet her eyes when she stared at me with a mix of suspicion and shock.

"Fuuta's special ability is ranking, apparently. I'm not sure how it works either." I gave a wry smile. Haru's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Hahi! Like fortune telling! Okay then, please tell Haru the top three things she likes about Tsuna-san!" After hearing Haru's words, I tried to keep down my blush. I didn't quite succeed.

"… Nonexistent."

"Hahi?!"

I began to understand what was wrong.

"Fuuta, um, could you try to do rankings for Vongola Decimo instead…?" I asked hesitantly. Fuuta nodded absentmindedly.

"Ranking of people to be Vongola Decimo's right-hand man… First place is a tie between Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi. The top three things Haru likes about Vongola Decimo is his strength, his gentleness, and in first place, his thoughtfulness."

Ah. I see. Vongola Decimo exists, but Sawada Tsunayoshi doesn't, huh?

Hayato and Takeshi were arguing over the right-hand man position, while Haru was busy squealing over how accurate the rankings were. They didn't notice what I did. However, there was still one more person in the room.

Black eyes met mine. It seems that the implications of Fuuta's rankings didn't escape him either.

* * *

><p>"You know what's going on," Reborn stated once we were alone. I refused to meet his eyes.<p>

"I have a theory," I replied in a vague tone. I could feel him glaring at me, but I refused to cave in. This was the one thing I couldn't tell to anyone, one secret I couldn't afford to share.

"You're not going to tell me." Reborn's voice was unnaturally calm. It sent shivers up my spine. I ignored my self-preservations instincts and turned to smile at him sadly.

"I can't tell anyone. I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note<strong>

Oh man Tsuna is such a hypocrite isn't he

If anyone wants the reason as to why Vongola Decimo can be ranked while Sawada Tsunayoshi cannot, just drop me a message or something. I'll be happy to explain anything you don't know ffrom any part of the story.

I'm sorry. My chapters are getting shorter. I can't wait until kokuyo. KOOOKUUYOOO OH MY GOD the trash illusionist is coming! But I have a few things in the daily life arc to get through first. (How should I tackle Valentines' day?)

Also I don't know what I did with Byakuran. He's a bit ooc here, isn't he? But I believe he's a few years older with Tsuna and suddenly saddled with memories of his other self, but with none of the connections except for one best friend that doesn't really trust him… well. There's a reason for him having memories instead of being able to communicate with alternate selfs. I'll think of it.

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><p><strong>Reviews<strong>

**Guest 30/8** – yes, all27!

**khrlover 11/8** – Ah, thank you! I'll try my best to update soon, but progress will be rather slow.

**Guest** **10/10** – Yes I will!

* * *

><p><strong>Quotes <strong>

"You get pulled apart by life, like the way you would crack open a living creature. They think that they are safe from the world as they walk around in this hard shell that they've created over time, but then the unexpected happens. You get thrown in hot water and then life pulls apart your arms and legs and breaks open your insides. No one goes through life without eventually showing their insides to someone." - _a shell in a storm_, Jenn Satsune

"started from the bottom now we a little bit above the bottom" – acquire on tumblr


	13. Chapter 13

**Warning:** A lot of self-reflection in this chapter. A lot of Tsuna thinking to himself. It might get really boring because it's so OC/Tsuna-centric. Lots of disgusting self-loathing in this chapter too.

Also, do you know what day is it

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

* * *

><p>'<strong>Stop being overdramatic,' they say. 'I don't know what you mean,' I say as I descend from the ceiling, surrounded by mist<strong>

* * *

><p>I never really grew tired of cherry blossom viewing. I've always loved the sight of the trees dressed in beautiful pink, and the petals of cherry blossoms slowly falling to the ground like snow… I've never seen such a view in my old life before, and I treasure every moment I get to experience it with my mother.<p>

(If only… my brother were here to see this with me.)

This year, my mother and I experienced a slight altercation in the matter of viewing spots, but it was solved quickly. Or rather, Dr. Shamal had solved it for us in a rare moment of generosity. Or at least, I chose to read it as generosity.

Please do not take my faith in the world away from me.

That being said, Hibari was now affected by a rather strange disease. Dr. Shamal had called it the 'Sakura Disorientation Syndrome' or 'Sakura-kura' for short. I had never heard of it before in my entire two lives until this day. Actually, now that I think of it, does this sort of syndrome actually exist back in my old life? Was this one of the 'Anime things'? The world may never know.

"Hibari-senpai? Hibari-senpai!" I called out to Hibari's retreating form. He didn't stop. In fact, he seemed to move faster. This was bad. Didn't he want to be cured? What if someone used this strange disease against him? Alright, maybe that was a little far-fetched. First of all, how would someone even know about this weird disease, let alone know that Hibari had it? Secondly, it would be highly impractical for someone to uproot a cherry blossom tree and plop it right in front of Hibari just before a fight. So maybe it was a slim chance that someone would be lucky (or persistent) enough to use this disease against him, and hence there isn't much of an urgency to get him cured, but… I can't help but feel that I should. I _needed_ to. If not, something bad would happen. Something bad and terrible and–

"Tenth, are you alright?" Hayato's voice made me jump and realize that I had been staring in the direction Hibari had been for an extended period of time. I shook my head, trying to clear it, but the uncomfortable, heavy feeling in my chest didn't go away. I fidgeted.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Hayato," I said quietly. I shifted. "I just… need to go take care of something. You guys start the picnic first, I'll be right back!" Without waiting for a reply, I ran down the road. I had to find Hibari. I had to find Hibari _now_ or something bad might happen.

"Hibari-senpai? Hibari-senpai!" I yelled out desperately. Where had he gone? I kept running until I was out of breath, slowing down to a walk. The more I looked at my surroundings, the more panicked I became. Was the area always so dark? Were there always so many cherry blossom trees? I stopped in my tracks just as a shiver ran up my spine. Something… something wasn't right here.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Be calm, be cool, be rational. There is no use in panicking, nothing can be gained from fear. When I reopened them, I found myself at the edge of the cherry blossom viewing area. A strange boy with heterochromatic eyes and the _strangest_ hairstyle stood in front of me, staring at me in mild curiosity. The same curiosity you'd give to a particularly entertaining and interesting bug before you killed it.

Understandably, I was terrified.

"Um. Hello," I greeted awkwardly, trying to hide my fear. The boy inclined his head forward slightly in acknowledgment, but otherwise did not say anything else. His eyes were still fixed on me. I fidgeted.

"Are… you here for the cherry blossom viewing? If you are, I can lead you to a nice place." Please say no, please say no, _please_ say no.

"What's your name?" the boy asked suddenly.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," I replied automatically. At that, the boy's eyes lost their intensity and he looked away, obviously losing his interest in me. I gave an inward sigh of relief as he started to walk away. Hopefully I'd never see him ever again.

* * *

><p><strong>If I was the President, I'd probably get assassinated like 4 hours into the presidency<strong>

* * *

><p>Fuuta was missing.<p>

_Fuuta_ was _missing_.

"Stop worrying so much, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn told me. I didn't listen to him.

One of the children _(my precious little brother)_ is _freakin' missing_ and Reborn expects me to not worry? He's joking right?

"Baka-Tsuna, you should be more concerned about yourself. There's been reports of attacks on Namimori students lately, and–"

"That's _exactly_ why I'm worried! There's a gang going about targeting children, Reborn. _Children_! And now Fuuta's gone! It's too coincidental!" I whirled around to face Reborn, cutting him off mid-sentence. He whacked me in the head with a Leon-mallet and I collapsed onto my knees, gripping my head in pain. Alright, noted. Next time, do not interrupt Reborn.

"You are one of those 'children' yourself, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn lectured.

"No, I mean, yes, I mean—" I cut myself of with a muffled scream of frustration, too high-strung to care that I had almost given away my identity. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Be calm, be calm. Don't be an impulsive idiot.

I opened my eyes and my mind was clearer now. There was something to this; Fuuta's disappearance and the attacks on the Namimori Middle were connected, somehow. But in what way? I knew had all the pieces of the puzzle, I just had to find out what they were and how they fit.

I was vaguely aware of Reborn observing me curiously, but I didn't pay him any attention.

Fuuta disappeared. What would be the most obvious reason for his disappearance? Someone had kidnapped him. But why would someone kidnap him? He wasn't even a Namimori student!

No. Don't jump to conclusions, Tsuna. List it out. List _everything_ out.

Okay, so why would someone kidnap Fuuta? He's just a kid, albeit a weird one who can somehow talk to a… planet…

I bolted up, as if shocked, scrambling to my feet. Rankings! That was it! They wanted his rankings!

I started pacing around, unconsciously picking Reborn up and placing him on my bed and making sure he was comfortable when he was in my way. In the back of my mind, I noted to myself that he was strangely pliant, but I filed that thought away for later.

Alright, rankings. Who would want his rankings? Mafia. But how did the Mafia connect to Namimori? It made no sense. Namimori had no connections to Mafia except… except…

Me.

I stopped dead in my tracks. That was it. Someone was attacking the members of Namimori Middle in order to draw me out. In order to draw Vongola Decimo out. But why Fuuta? As far as I know, almost no one from the underworld knew that Fuuta was staying with me. Think, think.

Rankings. Think of the people who were attacked. What was one thing they had in common? They were disciplinary committee members? No. Mochida Kensuke was attacked as well. What is something the disciplinary committee members and Mochida Kensuke had in common?

_Strength._

Yes, that's right they were strong. So, maybe someone got Fuuta to rank something about strength. And maybe, they thought that Vongola Decimo would be at the top. Hah, how wrong they were. Hibari would be at the top.

Hibari…

Wait, that would mean that he would be in trouble! I had to go, I have to help him or it'd be my fault, all my fault.

(Dead because of me.)

I almost ran for the door, but I tripped over my own two feet and fell onto the ground. Fortunately, this brief pause helped to clear my mind. What was I thinking, trying to rush into the situation without knowing the enemy? But who could it be? I'm pretty sure that there was at least a hundred people out there who wanted Vongola Decimo dead. How could I single one out from the many threats?

_Think, Tsuna, _think._ You have the pieces, you just need to put them together._

But how? There are so many, who would even stand out?

_"I've received intel that Rokudo Mukuro has escaped from prison."_

I stopped breathing. Rokudo Mukuro. Of course it was him. A name so familiar, as if I've heard it from a past that no longer existed, through a voice that I can never forget.

("C'mon! You _can't_ tell me his hair _doesn't_ look like a pineapple!")

A small smile graced my lips, although I wiped it off immediately. Focus. You can't drown in your memories.

I can't _afford_ to drown in my memories, can't drown in self-pity, anymore.

I pushed myself up to my feet again. It seemed strangely symbolic.

"Hey Reborn."

"Have you figured something out, Baka-Tsuna?"

"… Please tell me all you can about Rokudo Mukuro."

Leon's tail broke off and fell to the ground.

* * *

><p>Sasagawa-senpai got attacked today. He didn't want to tell Kyoko at first, but I didn't give him the choice. A younger sibling had to know why their older sibling got hurt. It would worry them and it might hurt them, but they deserve to know the truth. They deserve nothing less than the truth.<p>

("_I'm sorry, brother. I… don't think I can…" _

"_Don't say that! You'll live! You'll live! Please say that you'll live!" _

_I'm so sorry. I can't give you false hope. I _won't_ give you false hope. You deserve better than that._)

We still didn't know Rokudo Mukuro's base of operation, and I grew tenser and tenser with each passing moment.

(All these people are hurt because of me.)

_(You bring misery and tragedy to everyone you come into contact with, Dame-Tsuna.)_

(I know.)

Rokudo Mukuro was using Kokuyo students to attack Namimori students, so it probably had something to do with Kokuyo.

(_"…Mukuro's Kokuyo Gang…"_)

No, it _definitely_ had something to do with Kokuyo. However, we need more data before we attempt to get Fuuta back. We had to _wait_ for more data. There was no other choice but to just sit there and _wait_ while Fuuta was… Fuuta was…

No, there was another way but…

(_A flash of silver, a piercing pain, a scream of total utter despair. _

"_I'm sorry."_)

(I don't want to remember.)

I couldn't remember much of my past life. Then again, have I ever actually made an effort? Now's a good time to try. No, not try, now's a good time to _do_.

_Failure is not an option._

Think back, Tsuna. Think back to your brother—

(_"Don't die! You _can't_ die! Don't leave me!"_)

(I don't want to remember.)

Think _harder_, dammit! What had he ever said about Rokudo Mukuro?

_Pineapple._

Yes, pineapple, but that's not enough!

(_"…losing blood… Try to stay conscious!" _

"…_in the lung… grazed the heart…" _

"_Please stay awake with me, please. Mum and dad are already gone, you can't go too!"_)

_Kokuyo._

We already know that they have been masquerading as Kokuyo students, we need new information!

(I don't want to remember.)

I _need_ to remember! For Fuuta's (_my brother_) sake! I can't let him get hurt (_left him behind, I've hurt him so, so much I'm so sorry, please forgive me_)!

I heard someone calling my name but dismissed it. It sounded so far away; it must be my imagination. I had to go back to thinking, to _remembering_.

(_"I love you, please don't leave me, I love you, please don't go, I _need_ you…" _

_I'm sorry, brother. I'm tired. I'm trying my best but I can't. I just can't anymore._)

(I don't want to remember.)

_Remember, please. _

_For Fuuta._

(But I have to remember.)

My eyes widened as an onslaught of memories hit me, leaving me gasping for air. Nausea overtook me and I sunk to my knees, trying my best to not throw up.

_Blood, blood everywhere. Soaked through my shirt, drowning me. I can't breathe, can't breathe, blood in my lungs, blood staining the hands of my brother, no you can't touch me, you'll be dirty too, I won't taint you with this, blood is hard to clean, my brother can't do the laundry that well…_

No. I can't. I can't afford to drown in those memories. I needed—

"_I wonder how Kokuyo Centre looked like before it became a dump."_

"Baka-Tsuna!" Reborn's sharp tone jerked me out of my daze. He was staring at me with what seemed to be concern in his black eyes. But that's impossible, right? Reborn didn't really care for me, he was just a hitman who had been hired to be my tutor.

"Kokuyo Centre," I replied him hoarsely before flinching back in shock. What was wrong with my voice? I reflexively brought my hand up to cover my mouth and noticed that my cheeks were wet. Had I been crying? Quickly, I rubbed at my eyes until they were somewhat dry, and cleared my throat. "Kokuyo Centre," I repeated to Reborn. "Rokudo Mukuro's base of operations is at Kokuyo Centre."

Reborn raised an eyebrow, black eyes glittered. "And how would you know that?"

"Not important." I stood up. I knew the location ("_Kokuyo Centre"_), I knew the enemy (_"Trash illusionist, some weirdo with yoyos and a probably werewolf"_), and I knew what they wanted. Now was as good a time as any to move out.

"Where are you going, Baka-Tsuna?" Reborn asked.

"I'm going to Kokuyo Centre. I thought that was obvious?"

"How about your Family? Aren't you going to take them along?" I paused. Hayato and Takeshi…

_No._ "No, I'm not bringing them along. This is dangerous, Reborn. They're only children. They'll get hurt." I didn't want to involve them in this more than they already were. Unlike the strange adventures and trainings we went through before, _this_ was truly dangerous. They might _die_.

I wouldn't be able to take it if they died.

(Died because of me.)

(I'm such a selfish, selfish person.)

"You're the same age as them, Baka-Tsuna," Reborn said dryly. I gave a wry laugh.

"It's different with me." That was all I was willing to say on the matter. I walked towards the door and almost shrieked when it was suddenly flung open. I did whimper, though.

"You can't do this, Tsuna! You can't go!"

(_"You can't do this," my brother sobbed. You can't go!"_)

I felt like throwing up at the similarities. Takeshi and Hayato were at the door, staring at me with anger and some other emotion in their eyes. Takeshi pushed his way in with uncharacteristic forcefulness and Hayato followed behind, closing the door in an attempt to make sure I wouldn't slip out.

"I… have to go. This is about Vongola. It's my fault and I need to be the one to—"

"You keep telling us no to go off by ourselves, to do dangerous things on our own, but that's exactly what you're doing!" Takeshi yelled at me. I froze up, shocked. I hadn't looked at it this way. But… this is different, isn't it? They are children and I am…

(Alone.)

"Tenth," Hayato choked out. He seemed to be on the verge of tears and I instantly felt guilty. I put that expression on his face, didn't I? "Why are you trying so hard to shoulder everything by yourself? You have us! We're here for you!"

Oh.

_Oh._

My vision became blurry. I was crying, wasn't I? That was embarrassing. Hayato and Takeshi would worry about me because they were my friends. They were my friends and I… I wasn't alone anymore.

That's right… I'm not alone anymore. I don't have to do all this by myself anymore.

My knees gave out from under me but Hayato managed to step forth and catch me in his arms. I cling onto him like a little child until I stop crying.

* * *

><p>The possession bullet… The Mafia…<p>

Somehow I had lost track of how cruel the Mafia could be while I spent time with Reborn and my friends. How was that possible?

(_Silver coloured bullets, crimson coloured blood. _

"…_was at the wrong place at the wrong time…" _

"_One casualty…" _

"…_Mafia…"_)

Hayato, Bianchi, Hibari… Rokudo Mukuro had possession of all their bodies. I could only hope he hadn't had possession of Takeshi too.

"Now, why _shouldn't_ I take over your body, Vongola Decimo?" Rokudo Mukuro asked with Hayato's body, a patronising smirk on his face. I hated it; this expression did not belong to Hayato.

I hated how Rokudo Mukuro made Hayato and Bianchi's bodies move even with the injuries they had sustained. I hated how Rokudo Mukuro made the bodies of _his own friends_ move even when they were at the breaking point.

"You can't possess me because the actions you wish to do with it is wrong!" I yelled back, desperately trying to resist getting hit by the trident.

"Kufufu, that's just a matter of opinion. I'll ask you again. Why can't I take over your body?"

"Because…" I gritted my teeth. "Because this is my body."

The Leon-sphere on Reborn's back started glowing.

Now that I've said it, it seemed that something had changed. A small shift in viewpoint, but it made everything different.

_From the very beginning of this life… this body has belonged to me._

_Although I had the memories of a past life, I was still given the name Sawada Tsunayoshi from the start. Even if I wasn't the one who was supposed to have this body, I am still here. I am still Sawada Tsunayoshi._

Rokudo Mukuro was still rokudo Mukuro even after being reincarnated six times. Why should Sawada Tsunayoshi be any different?

"That's because… Because I am Sawada Tsunayoshi, and this is my body. This is _my_ life, and I won't allow you to steal it from me!"

'_It won't do you any good to dwell on have beens and could bes. What matters is where you are now, and what you are going to do from there.'_

How could I have forgotten about the words in which I had once lived by?

A blinding burst of light interrupted anything Rokudo Mukuro might have to say to that, and actually startled me into screaming.

"Vongola," Rokudo Mukuro hissed. "What are you doing?"

"I'll tell you once I know!" I replied him somewhat hysterically. Holy shit, what was going on?!

The light dimmed a little, and I saw that Leon had somehow attached himself to the ceiling and was _still_ glowing.

"He's finally emerging with his wings," Reborn told me vaguely. I stared at him incredulously. What wings? Leon was still a very smooth shiny sphere. There weren't even any bumps to signify the growing of limbs, much less the feathery kind!

Reborn explained to Rokudo Mukuro and me a few things, one of which didn't really make sense.

"What do you mean Leon gave birth to Enzo? Is that even anatomically possible? And don't lizards and reptiles lay eggs?" Of course, no one answered me. Rokudo Mukuro _did_ look at me weirdly, though. I wished Hayato was still conscious. He'd answer me.

Leon split into two and something fell out. It landed on my face with a 'fwumph' and I moved to hold it in my hands. Rokudo Mukuro, Reborn, and I stared at the pair of woollen mittens in my hands. Rokudo Mukuro snickered.

"Even at the end, you guys are just so amusing," he commented. I nodded in agreement.

"I know right?" He looked at me strangely again. Without thinking much of it, I pulled the mittens onto my hands. There, now my hands are nice and warm, and my blood circulation has improved.

…

How the _hell_ would that help me with defeating Rokudo Mukuro?!

Instinctively, I whirled around to block a stab from said illusionist, my flames lighting up for a first time since I've got here. Immediately, the mittens morphed into a pair of metal gloves. It shocked me so much that I almost got thrown back from the force of Rokudo Mukuro's stab.

Seriously. How.

I guess that didn't really matter at the moment, I mused to myself as I kicked Rokudo Mukuro – who was in the body of his blond haired friend – back. What mattered now would be for me to incapacitate all of the possessed bodies in the quickest, least harmful way possible.

I took a deep breath to calm myself.

And then I moved.

* * *

><p>Rokudo Mukuro couldn't move, although he was still conscious. Apparently, I had unconsciously gone for almost every pressure point in his body.<p>

Whoops.

"Why did you do this…?" I asked. I was kneeling down next to him. Well, there was a sizeable distance between the both of us because I was still pretty scared of him, but still.

I knew that the Mafia was a horrible, dark place. A rotten monster, containing thousands of horrid things and allowed them to do despicable deeds and remain free men. And yet, because I was going to be Vongola Decimo, I had hoped. I had retained a small amount of _foolish_ hope.

Rokudo Mukuro destroyed the little faith I had in the Mafia world ruthlessly, all but burning it to the ground and lighting the ashes aflame once again. When he was done telling his story, I was shaking is shock and horror.

"The Mafia… is despicable," I whispered.

"It doesn't matter, Baka-Tsuna, because you'll still be the one to become the boss of Vongola," Reborn replied me. I stared at the ground. My hands were trembling. I felt like laughing, or was it crying? I didn't quite know. Everything was catching up to me now, piling up. I knew that I was going to be a Mafia boss, but the revelation hadn't quite hit me until now.

I was going to be a Mafia boss.

_I_ was _going_ to be a _Mafia boss_.

This is _my life_ and _I_ was going to be a _bloody_ Mafia boss of a Family soaked in blood and established on corpses.

"Oi, Reborn, how many times do I have to tell you…?" I started softly, with a trembling voice. I got to my feet and spun around, fists clenched and eyes wide. My gaze was blurry and I knew that I was crying. I couldn't bring myself to care.

"I'm not going to be a Mafia boss! I _refuse_ to be part of… of that _thing_. I… I… I _hate_ the Mafia." The venom in my tone surprised me as well, but I didn't take back my words.

"You can force me into this position," I said quietly but resolutely. "But I promise you this.

"I will reform Vongola, or I will _destroy_ the entire Mafia world trying."

* * *

><p>"What's going to happen to them? To Rokudo Mukuro, to Ken, to Chikusa…"<p>

"The Vindice will imprison them forever."

"Wh-what? Forever…? That's…"

"Don't show your enemies mercy, Baka-Tsuna. That's unbefitting for a Mafia boss."

"…" I gritted my teeth and walked out of the room without another word.

* * *

><p>"Tenth?" Hayato's hesitant voice snapped me out of my daze. I blinked and glanced away from the window and at him.<p>

"Yes, what is it?" I asked, still strangely detached from the world around me. I knew my behaviour was worrying the people who cared about me, but I just couldn't seem to break out of it for some reason.

(I just didn't want to face reality. I wanted to keep running away, like I have been for the past fourteen years of my life. But that isn't really a choice anymore, is it?)

"Would you like to go to the bookstore with me? A new series of UMA investigation magazines have come out and I…" I waited for Hayato to finish speaking and nodded.

"Is Takeshi coming too?" I asked out of formality than anything. It was a given that Takeshi would try to spend time with me on Wednesdays, considering that there isn't any baseball practice on that day. Sure enough, Hayato gave a grimace and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, he is," he grumbled, but didn't seem too displeased about it. I had to smile at that.

"Hello Reborn," I greeted when I felt a familiar weight settle on my head.

"Baka-Tsuna," he acknowledged. Hayato had left my side once he saw the magazines, and Takeshi drifted over to the section in the bookstore that sold comic books, leaving me alone in the middle of the store. I drifted about, trying to see if anything caught my eye. I believed I was in the spiritual section of the bookstore; there were many strange things here. Stuff like tarot cards and Oujia boards. I wasn't ever going to touch one of those.

Thinking I should move on to another section, I turned around and froze up. The title '_Theories of Reincarnation and Death_' glaringly stood out from the shelves. I took an unconscious step back, hands trembling and breath coming out in quick puffs of air. This was too soon, _way_ too soon. I didn't want to deal with this right now.

"Baka-Tsuna?" Reborn's voice sounded out from on top of me. I stiffened. Oh no, he was here, he saw my reaction, he was going to _know_.

"Ah, Reborn!" My voice was too cheerful to be real and I winced. Still, I pushed on. "Do you see anything that you like?"

"'_Precognition and Premonition_'. You seemed to have a strong reaction to that one, Baka-Tsuna," he pointed out. I wasn't listening to him, panic filling my mind and dulling my senses.

"That's impossible and absurd, Reborn," I blurted out, very aware that I was talking too quickly for it to be nature. I cursed myself in my head as I carried on. "No one has ever proven that such a thing can happen! Sure, there are theories, but no actual scientific proof, yes?" I laughed awkwardly. I felt Reborn shift on top of my head and I quickly looked for something to change the subject. "Hey look! The new volume of Gekkan Shoujo has come out! Let's go look at it!"

As I ran from the subject, I knew that it wasn't the last time I'd heard about it from Reborn.

I could only hope that I would know how to handle the situation by then.

* * *

><p>Reborn watched in concern as his frustrating student slowly retreated into himself. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried. Also, taking into account the whole premonition thing and how Tsuna was able to pinpoint Rokudo Mukuro's location, and he had a mess on his hands.<p>

Reborn _refused_ to acknowledge the fact that he was nearly out of his depth here.

He watched his irritating student as Baka-Tsuna stared out the window, taking in dead eyes, pale skin, and dark eye bags.

Perhaps… it was time for a trip to Mafia Land, and to pay a certain blond idiot a visit.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note: <strong>

I skipped the fight scenes because I can't write them. Also, I am apparently incapable of actually writing serious scenes without inserting weird stuff in them.

I have some deleted scenes from this chapter on my tumblr.

Hey, should I include Naito Longchamp in this?

The part where Tsuna sees the reincarnation book and freaks out, but reborn assumes he's freakin out because of pprecognition, was taken from Tossing Stones by Princess Alexandria. A really good self-insert story in the Twilight fandom, I recommend that you check it out. Well, if you don't mind the pairing of Rosalie/Bella(who's an OC).

What day is it? I have no idea. that's why i'm asking.

Eyy, so now Tsuna knows how he died in his past life. Coolio.

* * *

><p><strong>Quotes<strong>

"'stop being overdramatic' they say. 'i dont know what you mean' i say as i descend from the ceiling, surrounded by mist" – the-lonely-scottish-guy on tumblr

"If I was the president I'd probably get assassinated like 4 hours into the presidency" – neelysworld on tumblr, deactivated


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